Goldsmith v The Queen

The applicant, Kamahl James Goldsmith, a 16-year-old Aboriginal child charged with murder, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the application of South Australian legislation, which came into effect on 6 July 1992, preventing the applicant from cross-examining the sole witness implicating him in the death of the deceased. This witness was a 16-year-old Aboriginal girl who had provided conflicting statements to the police, initially exculpating the applicant before later alleging he confessed to the murder.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the new legislation, which required the applicant to satisfy the court that there were special reasons for calling a witness for cross-examination, unfairly disadvantaged the applicant. Specifically, the court had to consider the impact of this legislative change on the applicant's ability to challenge the evidence against him, particularly given that a co-accused, who was the witness's uncle and whose preliminary hearing preceded the legislative amendment, had been able to extensively cross-examine the same witness under the previous provisions.

The applicant's counsel argued that the legislation created an unfair balance between the two accused, whose interests were in conflict. The co-accused had used the prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness to exculpate himself while implicating the applicant. The applicant contended that the new requirement for "special reasons" to call a witness for cross-examination, as stipulated by the amended Justices Act, was primarily concerned with matters of fairness and that its application in this instance prejudiced his defence. The court acknowledged familiarity with the statutory provisions in question.