Olsen v The Queen

The appeal concerned the conviction of Olsen for the offence of murder. The prosecution alleged that Olsen had intentionally caused the death of the deceased. Olsen maintained that he had acted in self-defence. The appeal was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to adequately direct the jury on the issue of self-defence, specifically concerning the requirement that the force used must be reasonably necessary in the circumstances as the accused perceived them. Olsen argued that the jury instructions were confusing and did not properly convey the subjective and objective elements of self-defence.

The Court analysed the relevant provisions of the *Crimes Act 1900* (NSW) concerning self-defence. It held that the jury directions, when read as a whole, did not sufficiently explain that the assessment of whether the force used was reasonably necessary involved a consideration of the circumstances as the accused honestly believed them to be, and then an objective assessment of whether the force used was reasonable in those perceived circumstances. The Court found that the directions may have led the jury to believe that the reasonableness of the force was to be judged solely on the actual circumstances, rather than the circumstances as perceived by the accused.

The Court of Criminal Appeal allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction for murder, and ordered a new trial.