Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Noriega

Nationwide News Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against the decision of the trial judge who refused to discharge the jury in defamation proceedings brought by Mr Noriega. The dispute concerned remarks made by counsel for Mr Noriega in relation to challenges to the jury panel made by Nationwide News.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the trial judge erred in refusing to discharge the jury on the grounds that the remarks made by Mr Noriega's counsel were prejudicial to Nationwide News. This involved considering whether the remarks constituted a mistrial or were otherwise so inflammatory as to prevent a fair trial.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Sheller, Ipp and Tobias JJA, reasoned that the remarks, while perhaps ill-advised, did not reach the threshold of requiring a discharge of the jury. Their Honours considered the context in which the remarks were made and concluded that the jury could still be adequately directed to disregard any potential prejudice and to decide the case on the evidence presented. The legal principle applied was that a jury should only be discharged in exceptional circumstances where a fair trial is no longer possible.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal refused Nationwide News' application for leave to appeal, ordering that Nationwide News pay Mr Noriega's costs.