Mattson v The King

Charles Mattson was convicted of manslaughter on a charge of murder by the Court of Gaol Delivery in Sydney. He appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which dismissed his appeal. Mattson then sought special leave to appeal to the High Court.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether Mattson should be granted a new trial to adduce evidence of the deceased's prior hostility towards him. Mattson's counsel at the original trial had deliberately refrained from calling witnesses who could provide this evidence, fearing it might be interpreted as evidence of motive for murder, thereby potentially undermining a defence of self-defence. The evidence sought to establish that the deceased produced the weapon and that the shooting was in self-defence.

The High Court, in refusing special leave to appeal, reasoned that it saw no reason to depart from the judgment of the Supreme Court. The Court implicitly accepted that the strategic decision by counsel at trial not to adduce evidence that might establish motive, and which could have been detrimental to a murder charge, was a valid tactical choice. Consequently, the Court found no basis to grant a new trial to allow the introduction of this evidence, particularly when some evidence of the desired nature had already been presented.