Myles v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Myles against a conviction for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained through a search of the appellant's property, which was conducted without a warrant. The appellant argued that the evidence was unlawfully obtained and should have been excluded from trial.

The High Court was required to determine whether the search conducted by police was lawful under the relevant legislation, and if not, whether the evidence obtained should have been admitted under the discretion to admit unlawfully obtained evidence. This involved an examination of the powers of police to conduct searches without a warrant in circumstances where they have reasonable suspicion that an indictable offence has been, or is about to be, committed.

The Court analysed the provisions of the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) and relevant common law principles concerning the admissibility of evidence. It was held that the police had reasonable grounds to suspect that the appellant was involved in a criminal enterprise, which justified the warrantless search. The Court affirmed that the discretion to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence is a broad one, but it is not to be exercised as a matter of course. In this instance, the Court found no error in the trial judge's decision to admit the evidence.

The appeal was dismissed.