Phillip Charles Kentwell and the QUEEN

Phillip Charles Kentwell (the applicant) appealed to the High Court of Australia against his conviction for the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death. The applicant had been convicted in the District Court of New South Wales and that conviction was affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained from the applicant's mobile phone.

The High Court was required to determine whether the evidence obtained from the applicant's mobile phone, specifically data relating to the applicant's use of the phone at the time of the fatal accident, was unlawfully obtained. This involved considering whether the search of the mobile phone was authorised by law, and if not, whether the evidence should have been excluded under the *Uniform Evidence Law* (NSW) or at general law. The applicant argued that the search was conducted without a warrant and without his consent, and that the evidence was therefore inadmissible.

The High Court held that the search of the mobile phone was not authorised by law. It reasoned that the police had no power to search the contents of the applicant's mobile phone without a warrant or his consent, and that the evidence obtained was therefore unlawfully obtained. The Court affirmed the principle that the unauthorised accessing of private information stored on a mobile phone constitutes an unlawful search. Consequently, the Court found that the evidence should have been excluded.

The High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and remitted the matter to the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales for determination of whether a new trial should be ordered.