Hayes v The Queen

Hayes appealed his conviction for murder in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The appeal concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained through a covert recording of a conversation between Hayes and a police informant, and the proper application of the exclusionary rule in relation to that evidence.

The central legal issues before the High Court of Australia were whether the recording was unlawfully obtained, and if so, whether the trial judge erred in admitting it into evidence. Specifically, the Court had to consider the scope of the exclusionary rule, which permits the exclusion of illegally or improperly obtained evidence if its admission would be unfair to the accused.

The High Court held that the recording was unlawfully obtained because it was made in circumstances that breached the applicant's right to privacy. However, the Court found that the trial judge had not erred in admitting the evidence. The majority reasoned that the exclusionary rule required a balancing exercise, weighing the public interest in the admission of relevant evidence against the public interest in the protection of individual rights. In this instance, the probative value of the recording was considered to be high, and its admission was deemed not to be unfairly prejudicial to the applicant, particularly given the directions provided to the jury.

The appeal was dismissed.