Lilley v The State of Western Australia

The appellant, along with a co-accused, was convicted of murder following a joint trial. The appellant appealed against his conviction, arguing that the trial judge had erred in admitting certain propensity evidence. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of Western Australia, the highest court in the state.

The key legal issues before the court were whether the propensity evidence was correctly admitted, both in the prosecution's case and in the defence of the co-accused, and whether the trial judge should have ordered that the appellant be discharged from the joint trial and tried separately. Propensity evidence is defined in the Evidence Act as evidence of a person's conduct or tendency to act in a particular way. The court had to consider whether the evidence had significant probative value and whether its probative value outweighed the risk of unfair prejudice.

The court held that the trial judge had correctly admitted the evidence. The court considered that the evidence had significant probative value, particularly in light of the defences of the appellant and his co-accused. The court found that the evidence was relevant to the assessment of the probability of the existence of a fact in issue, namely the appellant's propensity to commit murder. The court also held that the trial judge was not required to order that the appellant be discharged from the joint trial and tried separately.

The appeal was dismissed.