GZ v The Queen

The appeal concerned a conviction of the appellant, GZ, in the ACT Supreme Court for two offences of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10. GZ appealed against these convictions, arguing that the verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the jury’s verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory. This involved considering two specific grounds of appeal: firstly, whether the trial had miscarried due to the failure of GZ’s trial counsel to adduce evidence of his good character; and secondly, whether the trial had miscarried due to the admission of evidence of GZ’s bad character, contained within the complainant’s record of interview with the police.

The Court held that it was open to the jury to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that GZ was guilty of the two offences. However, the Court found that the trial had indeed miscarried. This miscarriage was attributed to both the failure of GZ’s trial counsel to present available evidence of his good character, and the admission of evidence of his bad character. Consequently, the appeal was upheld, and the matter was remitted to the Supreme Court of the ACT for a retrial.