HBJ v The Queen

The case of HBJ v The Queen concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia by the applicant, HBJ, against a conviction for a sexual offence. The applicant had been found guilty following a trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to adequately direct the jury on the issue of consent, specifically in relation to the applicant's belief that the complainant had consented to the sexual act. The applicant argued that the jury's verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory due to this alleged misdirection.

Kiefel and Keane JJ considered the relevant provisions of the *Criminal Code* (Qld) concerning sexual offences and the defence of honest and reasonable belief in consent. Their Honours reviewed the evidence presented at trial and the summing up of the judge to the jury. They concluded that the directions given by the trial judge, when considered in their entirety, were sufficient to inform the jury of the relevant legal principles and the matters they were required to consider when assessing the applicant's belief in consent. The High Court found no error of law in the trial judge's directions.

The appeal was therefore dismissed.