GJ v The Queen

The case of *GJ v The Queen* concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia by the applicant, GJ, against his conviction for a sexual offence. The central dispute revolved around the admissibility of certain evidence during his trial.

The High Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the applicant's prior sexual misconduct. Specifically, the court had to consider whether this evidence was improperly used to establish a propensity on the part of the applicant to commit the offence charged, thereby contravening the rule against character evidence. The appeal also raised questions about the proper application of the exclusionary rule concerning evidence that is unfairly prejudicial to an accused.

The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the admission of the prior sexual misconduct evidence was a substantial error. The majority reasoned that the evidence was not sufficiently probative of the specific offence charged and was instead likely to have led the jury to infer guilt based on the applicant's past behaviour. This was considered an improper use of propensity evidence, which is generally inadmissible unless it possesses a sufficient degree of relevance to an issue in dispute beyond mere character. The court emphasised that the potential for unfair prejudice to the applicant outweighed any probative value the evidence might have had.

Consequently, the High Court quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial.