Nguyen v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr. Nguyen against his conviction for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained during police investigations and whether its admission had occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

The High Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence that was obtained in circumstances that may have infringed the appellant's rights. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the evidence was obtained in contravention of the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) and, if so, whether its admission was nonetheless justified under the proviso in s 6(1) of the *Criminal Appeal Act 1912* (NSW) (which mirrors s 371(1) of the *Criminal Code Act 1899* (Qld) and s 237 of the *Criminal Code Act 1983* (NT)). This involved assessing whether there was a reasonable probability that the jury would have acquitted the appellant had the evidence not been admitted.

The Court held that the evidence in question was obtained in contravention of the appellant's rights. However, applying the proviso, the Court found that there was no reasonable probability that the jury would have reached a different verdict had the evidence been excluded. The Court reasoned that the other evidence before the jury was so compelling that the admission of the contested evidence did not occasion a miscarriage of justice.

The appeal was dismissed.