Nicholson v Avon

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicant, Mr Nicholson, sought to challenge an order made by Dawson J, which arose from a hearing before a magistrate and subsequently a review by Marks J. The respondent was the State of Victoria.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the magistrate had erred in the exercise of his discretion by admitting evidence, specifically the applicant's name and address, which was obtained following an allegedly unlawful entry and arrest. The applicant contended that the entry and subsequent arrest were unlawful, and that the admission of evidence obtained as a result of these actions should not have been countenanced by the court, particularly in light of the principles established in *Bunning v Cross*.

Dawson J, for the High Court, indicated that the magistrate had exercised his discretion to admit the evidence. It was not disputed that the admission of the name and address was voluntary. Even assuming, for the purposes of argument, that the entry and arrest were unlawful, Dawson J noted that this did not automatically render the evidence inadmissible. The court considered that the magistrate's decision to admit the evidence was a proper exercise of discretion, and that the applicant's arguments regarding the unlawfulness of the entry and arrest were ultimately academic in the context of the magistrate's discretionary power.

Special leave to appeal was refused.