Luna (a Pseudonym) v The Queen

Luna, acting through a pseudonym, appealed against an interlocutory decision that allowed the admission of hearsay evidence from the deceased complainant in a sexual offences trial. The High Court was tasked with determining the admissibility of the complainant’s statements made in committal proceedings, particularly in light of the psychiatric condition that came to the court's attention post-committal. The core issue was whether the probative value of this hearsay evidence was outweighed by the potential for unfair prejudice, and if the common law discretion to exclude unfair evidence was applicable under the Evidence Act 2008.

The court considered the interplay between statutory provisions and the common law discretion to exclude evidence. It examined whether the deceased complainant’s psychiatric condition, which was unknown at the time of the committal proceedings, rendered her previous statements unreliable or prejudicial. The court deliberated on the principles set out in Haddara v The Queen, where it was held that the probative value of evidence could be substantially diminished by factors that came to light post-committal, thus potentially warranting exclusion under the common law discretion. In this case, the court needed to determine if the psychiatric condition of the complainant sufficiently impacted the reliability and probative value of her statements to warrant exclusion.

The court held that the probative value of the complainant's hearsay evidence was indeed outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice due to her undisclosed psychiatric condition. The court exercised its discretion under the common law, finding that the unfair prejudice substantially outweighed the probative value. Consequently, the court ruled that the evidence should be excluded from the trial. The appeal was thus allowed, and the admission of the hearsay evidence was set aside.

No further orders were made in this interlocutory decision, and the matter was remitted to the lower court for further proceedings.