King v The Queen

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicant, King, sought to challenge the decision of a lower court regarding the admissibility of evidence at a second trial, specifically concerning the acquittal of another individual, Matthews, in a prior trial.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge in King's second trial erred in refusing to allow the jury to consider the acquittal of Matthews. This raised questions about the principle of double jeopardy and its application in circumstances where a prior acquittal might be relevant to the elements of a subsequent charge.

The Court considered the principles articulated in *Storey* (1978) 140 CLR 364, particularly the reasoning of Jacobs J. His Honour's judgment indicated that a jury in a later trial should not be permitted to conclude that all elements of an offence for which a defendant was previously acquitted have been proven. If evidence emerges that could lead to such a conclusion, the jury must be given clear and specific directions that they must not find all elements proven, and the prior determination that not all elements were proven must be accepted as correct. The Court also examined the concept of double jeopardy extending to facts relevant to the establishment of an element of an offence, even if not a direct element itself.