Hollingsworth v The Queen

In the matter of Hollingsworth v The Queen, the applicant appealed against his conviction for intentionally causing serious injury to his six-week old daughter. The trial judge had admitted evidence of previous episodes of family violence between the applicant and the child’s mother, a family violence intervention order, and intervention by the Department of Health and Human Services. The applicant argued that this evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial, and should not have been admitted.

The legal issues before the court were whether the evidence of family violence was relevant and admissible under the Evidence Act 2008, and whether it was an error to not exclude the evidence pursuant to s 137 of the Evidence Act 2008. The court considered the principles established in HML v The Queen, Aleski (a pseudonym) v The Queen, WFS v The Queen, Ritchie (a pseudonym) v The Queen, and Ivanoff v The Queen, which established that evidence of family violence can be admissible for context and to rebut anticipated defences.

The court found that the evidence of family violence was relevant and admissible for context, as it provided important background information about the relationship between the applicant and the child’s mother. The court also found that the evidence was admissible to rebut the anticipated defence of accidental injury, as it demonstrated a pattern of violent behaviour by the applicant. The court held that the trial judge had not erred in admitting the evidence, and that there was no basis for excluding it under s 137 of the Evidence Act 2008. The appeal was dismissed, but leave to appeal was granted in respect of the grounds concerning the admission of family violence evidence.

The court granted an extension of time to file the notice of application for leave to appeal, and granted leave to appeal in respect of the grounds concerning the admission of family violence evidence. However, the appeal was ultimately dismissed, and leave to appeal was refused on the remaining proposed grounds.