Nguyen v The Queen; Singh v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered appeals by Nguyen and Singh against their convictions for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained through covert police surveillance, specifically audio recordings made by listening devices planted in vehicles used by the appellants. The appellants argued that the recordings were unlawfully obtained and should have been excluded from evidence, as their admission prejudiced their right to a fair trial.

The High Court was required to determine whether the listening devices were installed and used in contravention of the *Listening Devices Act 1991* (NSW) and, if so, whether the evidence obtained should have been excluded under the common law. Specifically, the Court had to consider the scope of the statutory prohibition against installing and using listening devices and the principles governing the exercise of discretion to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence.

The Court reasoned that the *Listening Devices Act 1991* (NSW) prohibited the installation and use of listening devices without lawful authority. It found that the police had not obtained the necessary warrants or authorities for the installation and use of the devices in the appellants' vehicles. Consequently, the recordings were unlawfully obtained. However, the Court held that the common law discretion to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence was not automatically enlivened by the illegality. Instead, the Court applied a balancing exercise, weighing the public interest in the admission of relevant and probative evidence against the public interest in the protection of individual rights and the integrity of the criminal justice system. The Court concluded that, in these circumstances, the probative value of the recordings outweighed the prejudice to the appellants and the impropriety of their unlawful acquisition, and therefore the evidence was admissible.

The appeals were dismissed.