Mikael v R

The appellant, Mikael, appealed against his conviction for various criminal offences. The case before the court involved a determination of whether the trial judge had erred in not discharging the jury after they expressed concern that a photograph may have been taken of them by a person in the back of the courtroom. The trial judge investigated the matter and concluded that no photograph had been taken. The trial judge provided a direction to the jury, after which the jury indicated they had no further requests or concerns regarding the incident. The trial judge determined that there was no prejudice to the accused in those circumstances warranting a discharge of the jury.

The legal issue before the court was whether the trial judge erred in not discharging the jury after they raised concerns about a potential photograph being taken of them. The court considered the principles relating to the discharge of a jury, including whether the accused had suffered prejudice as a result of the incident. The court found that the trial judge had properly investigated the matter and provided an appropriate direction to the jury. The jury indicated they had no further concerns regarding the incident, and the trial judge determined that there was no prejudice to the accused. The court held that the finding of the trial judge that no prejudice had resulted was sound and there was no error of fact or law established.

The court dismissed the appeal, affirming the decision of the trial judge that there was no error in not discharging the jury. The court held that the trial judge's determination that no prejudice had resulted was sound and that the principles relating to the discharge of a jury were correctly applied. The court found no error of fact or law in the trial judge's decision and dismissed the appeal. The conviction of the appellant was upheld.