HT v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by HT against a conviction for a sexual offence. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during HT's trial, specifically evidence relating to HT's prior sexual history.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of HT's prior sexual conduct with the complainant, which was admitted under s 137 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW). This section requires a judge to exclude evidence if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the defendant. The High Court also considered whether the admission of this evidence, if it was wrongly admitted, had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice, thereby requiring the quashing of the conviction.

The High Court reasoned that the trial judge had failed to properly weigh the probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial effect. The evidence of prior sexual conduct was admitted to establish a pattern of behaviour and to rebut a defence of innocent touching. However, the Court found that the potential for this evidence to lead the jury to infer guilt based on HT's character, rather than on the evidence relating to the specific offence charged, was substantial. The Court concluded that the admission of the evidence was an error and that this error had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and ordered a new trial.