O'Connor v The Queen

The case of *O'Connor v The Queen* concerned an appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The appellant, O'Connor, had been convicted of a number of offences, including aggravated burglary and assault occasioning bodily harm. The dispute centred on the admissibility of certain evidence obtained during the investigation of these offences.

The primary legal issue before the Full Court was whether the evidence obtained from the appellant's mobile phone, including text messages and call logs, had been lawfully obtained. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the police had acted within their powers under the relevant legislation when they seized and analysed the contents of the phone without a warrant, and whether the admission of this evidence at trial had occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

Bell and Keane JJ held that the search and seizure of the appellant's mobile phone and its contents were unlawful. They reasoned that the police had failed to comply with the requirements of the *Criminal Investigation Act 2006* (WA) which mandated the obtaining of a warrant for such a search, absent specific exceptions that were not met in this instance. The Court found that the admission of the unlawfully obtained evidence was prejudicial to the appellant and had led to a substantial miscarriage of justice. Consequently, the convictions were quashed, and a retrial was ordered.