Martin v The Queen

The High Court of Australia heard an application for special leave to appeal by Kenneth Michael Martin against a decision of the Court of Appeal. The application concerned the principles governing the exclusion of illegally or improperly obtained evidence. A separate application, B5/2015, was also before the Court, which the applicant indicated might be futile in light of new evidence.

The primary legal issue in matter B14/2015 was whether the Court of Appeal had erred in its application of the discretion to exclude evidence, specifically concerning the characterisation of police conduct. The applicant argued that the Court of Appeal had altered the structure of this discretion by introducing the concept of "flagrancy" in a way that devalued or distinguished it from recklessness, contrary to the principles established in *Bunning v Cross*. The applicant also contended that the delay in filing the application, which was more than three years out of time, was excusable due to incarceration and lack of legal advice, and that the case involved a substantial miscarriage of justice.

The Court considered the applicant's submissions regarding the discretion to exclude evidence, noting that the application was significantly out of time and lacked a satisfactory explanation for the delay. The Court found that the applicant's argument did not present an arguable case that his conviction constituted a miscarriage of justice. Regarding matter B5/2015, the Court determined that the Court of Appeal's decision was plainly correct.

Special leave to appeal was refused in both matters.