Green v The Queen

[1999] HCA 13

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GLEESON CJ,
GAUDRON, McHUGH, GUMMOW AND CALLINAN JJ

GRAEME WILLIAM GREEN  APPELLANT

AND

THE QUEEN  RESPONDENT

Green v The Queen [1999] HCA 13
14 April 1999
P27/1998

ORDER

Appeal dismissed.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of Western Australia

Representation:

D Grace QC with M A Hardham for the appellant (instructed by the Office of David Grace QC)

J R McKechnie QC with J A Girdham for the respondent (instructed by Director of Public Prosecutions (Western Australia))

Notice:  This copy of the Court’s Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Green v The Queen

Criminal law – Conspiracy to murder – Alleged lies told by accused – Lies as corroboration – Direction to jury – Failure to direct that lies could not be used as corroboration of witness where evidence of same witness is used to establish the lie – Other evidence upon which jury could conclude accused was telling lies – No substantial miscarriage of justice – Application of proviso.

Edwards v The Queen (1993) 178 CLR 193.

1. GLEESON CJ, GUMMOW AND CALLINAN JJ.   Following a trial in the District Court of Western Australia, before Healy DCJ and a jury, the appellant was convicted of conspiring with Steven Craig Radalj to murder Sydney James Chesson.  He was sentenced to a substantial term of imprisonment.

2. The appellant appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal (Malcolm CJ, Steytler and Parker JJ) against his conviction.  The appeal was dismissed.  A number of grounds of appeal were argued in the Court of Criminal Appeal, but only one is the subject of special leave to appeal to this Court.  The ground of appeal argued in this Court was expressed as follows:

   "The Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia erred in law in failing to find that the Learned Trial Judge erred in law such as to give rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice, in relation to his failure to properly direct the jury in accordance with the relevant law in relation to the alleged lies told by the applicant concerning his involvement in the Virginia Standardbreds Syndicate."

3. The alleged conspiracy between the appellant and Mr Radalj to murder Mr Chesson was said to have been entered into between July and September 1993. The appellant, his father, and Mr Chesson, had been associated for a number of years in business ventures which involved, amongst other things, the holding of property unit trusts, the assets of which included shopping centres in Perth.  The ventures were unsuccessful, and this gave rise to a deal of tension, and acrimony, between the participants.  It is unnecessary for present purposes to go into the details, except to mention that, on the Crown case, there was an incident involving a suggestion made by the appellant's father to Mr Chesson that a shopping centre should be destroyed by fire in order to collect insurance money.  It was claimed that a record…