MJ v The Queen

The appellant, MJ, appealed against a conviction for theft. The appeal concerned two grounds: first, whether the evidence admitted at trial was obtained through an illegal search, and second, whether the trial miscarried due to the prejudicial character evidence introduced by the Crown. The appeal was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

The Court was required to determine whether the evidence relied upon by the prosecution was unlawfully obtained, thereby necessitating its exclusion. Furthermore, the Court had to consider whether the admission of deliberately elicited prejudicial character evidence by a Crown witness, a police officer, constituted a miscarriage of justice that warranted discharging the jury. If a miscarriage was found, the Court also had to consider whether there was a basis for entering an acquittal or if a new trial was the appropriate remedy.

Applying the principles from *Crofts v The Queen*, the Court found that the evidence in question was not the result of a search, let alone an illegal one, and therefore dismissed the first ground of appeal. However, regarding the second ground, the Court determined that the deliberate introduction of prejudicial character evidence by the police witness, which was not relevant to the circumstantial case, did indeed cause a miscarriage of justice. Citing *Davies v The King*, the Court held that there was no basis to record an acquittal, and consequently, the conviction was quashed and a new trial was ordered.