MWJ v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by MWJ against a conviction for sexual offences. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during the trial, specifically evidence relating to the complainant's prior sexual history.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the complainant's sexual history, which MWJ argued was irrelevant and prejudicial. This raised questions about the proper application of the rules of evidence, particularly concerning the admissibility of evidence that might tend to portray a complainant in a negative light or suggest that the alleged offence was unlikely to have occurred.

The High Court analysed the relevant provisions of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) and the common law principles governing the admission of such evidence. The Court affirmed that evidence of a complainant's sexual history is generally inadmissible unless it is relevant to a fact in issue and its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect. In this instance, the Court found that the evidence admitted by the trial judge did not meet the threshold for admissibility and therefore constituted a miscarriage of justice.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and ordered a new trial.