Lane v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the appellant, Lane, against his conviction for manslaughter. The central dispute concerned the trial judge's directions to the jury regarding the requirement of unanimity as to the specific act that caused the death of the deceased, where the prosecution had presented evidence of two distinct acts by the appellant, either of which could have been the cause of death.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the trial judge's failure to direct the jury on the necessity of unanimity concerning the specific act causing death constituted a "fundamental defect" that precluded the application of the proviso under section 6(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW). This required the Court to determine whether, in the absence of such a direction, a "substantial miscarriage of justice" had actually occurred.

The High Court reasoned that the requirement for a jury to be unanimous as to the specific act causing death is a fundamental presupposition of a criminal trial. The absence of a direction on this matter meant that the jury might not have been unanimous as to the factual basis of the conviction, thereby creating a substantial miscarriage of justice. Consequently, the proviso, which allows an appeal to be dismissed despite an error if no substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred, could not be applied.

The High Court allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the Court of Criminal Appeal, and ordered that the appellant's conviction and sentence be quashed, with a new trial to be had.