IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY JC

The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory dealt with an application by JC, the accused in an indictment charging him with acts of indecency on two children, Mary and Michael. The application sought to exclude certain parts of the record of conversation between the police and the children from being admitted as evidence at the trial. The accused argued that the probative value of the evidence was outweighed by its prejudicial effect. The legal issues involved determining the admissibility of specific parts of the recorded conversations with each child based on their relevance and potential prejudicial impact.

The court first addressed the application concerning Mary's record of conversation. The contested parts of the conversation involved the accused allegedly suggesting that Mary might sleep with him in his bed, teasing her in a provocative manner, and giving her flowers with a card saying "Boo, I love you." The prosecution argued that these passages were relevant to show the accused's grooming behaviour. However, the court found that the prejudicial effect of these statements significantly outweighed their probative value, leading to the exclusion of the specified parts of Mary's conversation.

Regarding Michael's record of conversation, the accused argued that the entire record should be excluded because relevant evidence was obtained only after leading questions were asked. The prosecution countered that the court would have permitted the leading questions and that Michael's answers went beyond the scope of the questions. The court concluded that the leading questions were permissible given Michael's young age and that his detailed answers provided valuable information. Thus, the application to exclude Michael's record of conversation was refused, and the entire record was to be admitted.

The court ordered that certain parts of the record of conversation with Mary be excluded from the trial, while the record of conversation with Michael was to be admitted in its entirety.