Penney v The Queen

This case concerned an appeal by Michael Penney (the appellant) to the High Court of Australia against the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of South Australia, which had dismissed his appeal against a conviction for attempted murder. The appellant was convicted by a majority verdict of attempting to murder his wife by setting fire to her car.

The High Court was required to determine whether the verdict of attempted murder was unsafe or unsatisfactory, or otherwise resulted in a miscarriage of justice, thereby entitling the appellant to an acquittal or a retrial. This involved considering the significance of a potentially defective police investigation, whether there had been a misdirection by the trial judge on the elements of the offence and motive, and the relevance of marital discord to the case.

The Court reasoned that the jury was entitled to consider all the proved circumstances of the case, not just the opinions of expert witnesses. The opinions of experts were relevant but could not pre-empt the jury's duty to assess the combined effect of all evidence. The Court found that the trial judge had correctly directed the jury on the essential elements of attempted murder, which included a voluntary intention to kill, an act immediately directed towards fulfilling that intention, and the absence of lawful excuse. The Court of Criminal Appeal had also properly considered the ground that the verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory, and the High Court agreed with their conclusion.

The appeal was dismissed.