Hunter v The Queen

Robert Ellwood Hunter applied to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of Queensland. Hunter had been convicted of murder in the Supreme Court of Queensland, which resulted in a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. The Court of Criminal Appeal allowed his appeal, quashed the murder conviction, substituted a verdict of guilty of manslaughter, and imposed a sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the Court of Criminal Appeal had denied Hunter natural justice by failing to call for submissions on penalty before imposing the 20-year sentence for manslaughter. A secondary issue, raised by the respondent, concerned the circumstances under which counsel for the applicant had abandoned certain grounds of appeal in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

The applicant argued that the failure to seek submissions on penalty before sentencing for manslaughter was a departure from normal criminal procedure and constituted a denial of natural justice. The respondent sought to rely on an affidavit from the applicant's former counsel to explain the abandonment of grounds of appeal, suggesting that this abandonment was a strategic decision. The High Court was therefore required to consider both the procedural fairness of the sentencing by the Court of Criminal Appeal and the validity of the applicant's grounds of appeal in light of the actions of his previous legal representation.