Popovic v R; Hristovski v R; Bubanja v R; and Koloamatangi v R

The four applicants, Popovic, Hristovski, Bubanja, and Koloamatangi, appealed against their convictions for murder by a jury. The appeal centred on whether the trial judge had erred in various respects during the summing up of the case. The High Court of Australia considered the appeal, addressing the issues raised by the applicants.

The legal issues included whether the trial judge had failed to provide a direction in accordance with Shepherd v The Queen, whether there had been a misdirection concerning hearsay evidence, and if the warnings about the unreliability of evidence were adequate. Additionally, the court examined whether the trial judge's invitation to the jury to consider why a Crown witness would lie diminished the effectiveness of the warnings about the unreliability of evidence and whether this resulted in an unbalanced summing up, thereby denying the applicants a fair trial.

The High Court found that while the trial judge did not provide a direction in accordance with Shepherd v The Queen, this omission was not fatal to the trial. The court held that the warnings given by the trial judge about the unreliability of evidence were adequate and not erroneous. However, the invitation to the jury to consider why the witness would lie was problematic as it potentially undermined the warnings about the unreliability of evidence. This, combined with other issues, led the court to conclude that two of the applicants, Popovic and Hristovski, were denied a fair trial. As a result, their convictions were quashed, and a retrial was ordered for them. The guilty verdicts against the other two applicants, Bubanja and Koloamatangi, were deemed unreasonable in light of the evidence, leading to their acquittal.

The High Court granted leave to appeal and allowed the appeal in part. The convictions of Popovic and Hristovski were quashed and a retrial ordered, while the guilty verdicts against Bubanja and Koloamatangi were quashed, and verdicts of acquittal were entered in their place.