Lin v The Queen

The appeal concerned the conviction of the appellant, Mr. Lin, for the offence of trafficking in a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine. The prosecution's case relied heavily on evidence obtained from a covert police operation, including intercepted telephone communications and surveillance footage. Mr. Lin appealed his conviction, arguing that the evidence obtained through the covert operation was inadmissible due to alleged breaches of his rights under the *Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979* (Cth). The appeal was heard by Bell and Keane JJ of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the evidence derived from the covert police operation was unlawfully obtained and, consequently, should have been excluded from the trial. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the police had obtained the necessary authorities and complied with the statutory requirements for undertaking the surveillance and interception activities. The appellant contended that the authorisations were defective, rendering the subsequent evidence inadmissible under s 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW).

Bell and Keane JJ analysed the relevant provisions of the *Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979* (Cth) and the principles governing the admissibility of unlawfully obtained evidence under s 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW). The Court found that while there may have been some technical irregularities in the authorisations, these did not rise to a level that would render the evidence unfairly prejudicial to the appellant or contrary to the public interest to admit. The Court applied the balancing exercise required by s 138, weighing the desirability of admitting evidence that might prove guilt against the undesirability of judicial encouragement of unlawful conduct. Ultimately, their Honours concluded that the evidence was admissible.

The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction of Mr. Lin was affirmed.