Monday (a pseudonym) v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Monday (a pseudonym) against a conviction for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained during police investigations.

The High Court was required to determine whether the evidence, specifically a confession made by Monday, was improperly obtained and therefore inadmissible under the common law. This involved an assessment of whether the confession was voluntary and whether the police had acted unfairly or improperly in obtaining it.

The Court applied the principles established in *R v F 1994* (NSWCCA) and *McKinney v The Queen* (1991) regarding the admissibility of confessions. It held that a confession is inadmissible if it was not voluntary, meaning it was not the product of the free will of the accused. The Court also considered whether the confession was obtained in circumstances that were unfair or improper, which could lead to its exclusion even if voluntary, in the exercise of the court's discretion. The High Court found that the confession was voluntary and that there were no grounds to exclude it in the exercise of discretion.

The appeal was dismissed.