Johnston v The Queen

In *Johnston v The Queen*, the High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the applicant, Johnston, against his conviction for murder. The dispute centred on the admissibility of certain evidence during his trial.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the applicant's prior convictions and prior bad character. This raised questions concerning the proper application of the rules of evidence, particularly concerning the prejudice that such evidence might create in the minds of the jury, and whether its probative value outweighed that prejudice.

The High Court, comprising McHugh and Heydon JJ, analysed the relevant provisions of the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth) and common law principles governing the admission of character evidence. Their Honours concluded that the admission of the evidence in question was an error, as it was not sufficiently relevant to the issues in dispute and carried a significant risk of unfairly prejudicing the applicant in the eyes of the jury. The court emphasised that evidence of prior convictions or bad character should only be admitted where it possesses substantial probative value in relation to a fact in issue, and not merely to suggest a propensity to commit the crime charged.

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