Playford v The Queen; Griffiths v The Queen

In *Playford v The Queen* and *Griffiths v The Queen*, the High Court of Australia considered appeals from convictions for murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained through the use of a listening device, specifically whether the evidence was obtained unlawfully and, if so, what the consequences of that unlaw­fulness were for its admission at trial. The appeals were heard together by the High Court.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the admission of evidence obtained by a listening device, in circumstances where the warrant authorising its use was found to be invalid, constituted a miscarriage of justice. This required the Court to consider the principles governing the admission of illegally or irregularly obtained evidence, particularly in the context of serious criminal offences like murder, and the application of the proviso in section 237(1)(b) of the *Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935* (SA).

The Court reasoned that the invalidity of the warrant meant the evidence was obtained unlawfully. However, the Court applied the proviso, which allows an appellate court to dismiss an appeal against conviction if it is of the opinion that no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred. The Court found that, despite the unlawful obtaining of the evidence, the other evidence before the jury was so overwhelming that it was inevitable they would have convicted the appellants even without the evidence from the listening device. Therefore, no substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred.

The appeals were dismissed.