Knight v The Queen

The applicant, Knight, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a judgment of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal had dismissed Knight's appeal against his conviction for offences arising out of the Bathurst riots of April 1985. The sole ground for special leave concerned the admission into evidence of a confessional statement made by Knight to Inspector Schmidt at Bathurst police station.

The legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge erred in admitting the confessional material into evidence. This question arose in circumstances where Knight alleged he had been assaulted by police officers after his arrest at 4.00 pm on 7 April, prior to making the statement to Inspector Schmidt at approximately 5.30 pm. While allegations of assault were put to the arresting officers and later to Inspector Schmidt, no specific allegations concerning Knight's physical state were put to Inspector Schmidt, and no objection was taken to the admission of the confessional statement at the time of its tender.

The High Court considered the purpose for which medical notes from Bathurst gaol were tendered into evidence by the applicant's counsel. These notes were tendered over objection immediately after Knight's unsworn statement, in which he detailed alleged assaults by police. It appeared from the trial judge's summing up that both the judge and counsel believed these medical notes were tendered to discredit the arresting detectives. However, the judge directed the jury that the evidence concerning assaults had nothing to do with what Knight did and that their duty was to consider what happened before he was arrested. The Court ultimately granted special leave to appeal, quashed the conviction, and ordered a new trial.