Green v The Queen

In *Green v The Queen*, the High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the applicant, Green, against his conviction for murder. The dispute arose from Green's actions during a robbery where a co-offender was killed. The prosecution's case was that Green was guilty of murder as a secondary party, either as a principal or as an accessory, to the unlawful killing of his co-offender.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the applicant could be convicted of murder as a secondary party to the killing of his co-offender, when that co-offender was killed by police during the commission of the robbery. Specifically, the court had to determine the scope of criminal liability for murder under the common law, particularly in circumstances where the death was caused by a third party (police) acting in response to the commission of a crime.

The High Court, by majority, held that Green was not guilty of murder. The majority reasoned that for Green to be liable as a secondary party for murder, the prosecution had to prove that the killing was a probable consequence of the unlawful act that Green had encouraged or assisted. In this instance, the killing of the co-offender by police was not a probable consequence of the robbery, but rather a response to the actions of the co-offender himself. The court affirmed the principle that a secondary party is not liable for murder if the death is caused by an independent act of a third party, unless that death was a probable consequence of the joint unlawful enterprise.

The High Court allowed the appeal and quashed the conviction for murder.