Keenan (a pseudonym) v The King

The appeal concerned a criminal conviction against the applicant, referred to as Keenan, for sexual offences. The dispute arose from conflicting accounts of an interaction between the applicant and a complainant, C, during a drive to a water tank. The appeal was heard by the Supreme Court of South Australia, comprising Chief Justice Kourakis, Justice Bleby, and Justice David.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the trial judge erred in her assessment of the applicant's credibility and whether this error resulted in a miscarriage of justice. Specifically, the court considered whether the judge's rejection of the applicant's evidence was based on an assumption not supported by the evidence presented at trial or by judicial notice.

The Court reasoned that the trial judge had made a finding regarding the improbability of a person having sufficient lung capacity to draw water through a long hose from a tank. This finding, which was crucial to the judge's adverse assessment of the applicant's credibility, was not supported by any evidence presented during the trial, nor was it a matter of common knowledge that could be judicially noticed. Consequently, the Court concluded that this unsupported finding led to a miscarriage of justice.

The Court granted permission to appeal, allowed the appeal, set aside the convictions, and ordered a new trial.