Masters v R

The case of Masters v R involved an appeal from a decision of the District Court of New South Wales. The appellant, Masters, had been convicted by a judge alone of various criminal offences. The appeal centred on the contention that the trial judge’s conduct had given rise to procedural unfairness or an apprehension of bias, which led to a miscarriage of justice. A further issue was whether the trial judge had applied the correct legal test in determining whether Masters was mentally ill at the time of the alleged offence. The appellant argued that a special verdict of act proven but not criminally responsible should have been entered under section 7(4) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912.

The court examined the conduct of the trial judge to assess whether there had been any procedural unfairness or apprehension of bias that could have tainted the trial. It was determined that the trial judge's conduct did not amount to procedural unfairness or bias. The court then turned to the question of whether the trial judge had applied the correct legal test in determining the appellant's mental state at the time of the alleged offence. It was held that the trial judge had applied the wrong test in this respect. Given this error, the court concluded that a miscarriage of justice had occurred. Consequently, the appeal was allowed and a special verdict of act proven but not criminally responsible was entered pursuant to section 7(4) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912.