Supreme Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: R (Commonwealth) v Mark William Standen [2011] NSWSC 1044 Hearing dates: 26 May 2011 Decision date: 26 May 2011 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: James J Decision: I consider that all of the documents the admissibility of which was disputed, which I ruled should be admitted, are relevant and of substantial probative force
Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Regina, Mark William Standen Representation: T Game SC, H Dhanji SC, S Buchen (Crown)
M Ierace SC, G Farmer (Accused)
Commonwealth DPP (Crown)
Gordon Elliot, Elliot Lawyers (Accused)
File Number(s): 2009/8922
Judgment (on Crime Commission documents)
HIS HONOUR: This short supplementary judgment is to be read with the rulings and reasons given by me at pages 2333 to 2336 of the transcript.
I consider that all of the documents the admissibility of which was disputed, which I ruled should be admitted, are relevant and of substantial probative force as being capable of showing one or more of the following:
Kinch's history of criminality particularly in the importing and trafficking of illicit drugs and that this history was known to the accused; the frequency of contacts between the accused and Kinch in 2003 - 2004; that the relationship between the accused and Kinch in 2003 - 2004 developed far beyond the usual handler-informer relationship; that the accused made representations in favour of Kinch stating matters more favourably to Kinch than was warranted; the beginnings of an improper relationship between the accused and Kinch rendering it more probable that a fully corrupt relationship was in existence during the period alleged in the indictment; matters which can be linked to other matters which occurred during the alleged conspiracy; and that after Kinch left Australia in February 2004 he was still involved in the trafficking and distribution of drugs.
I do not consider that, in the case of any of the documents there was any danger, if the document was admitted, of unfair prejudice to the accused or of collateral issues arising or of procedural unfairness to the accused or any likelihood that the weight which should be given to the document could be significantly affected by other records of the Commission which have not been retrieved.
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- AGLC
- R (Commonwealth) v Mark William Standen [2011] NSWSC 1044
- Case
- [2011] NSWSC 1044
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The central legal issue before the court was the admissibility of various documents, specifically those from the Crime Commission, which were argued to be prejudicial and irrelevant to the case. The court needed to determine whether these documents should be admitted into evidence given their potential to unfairly prejudice the accused or introduce collateral issues.
The court found that the documents were both relevant and of substantial probative force. They were capable of illustrating key aspects of the case, including the history of criminal activity of a relevant individual, the nature of interactions between the accused and this individual, and the development of their relationship. The court ruled that the documents could be admitted as they did not unfairly prejudice the accused, introduce collateral issues, or result in procedural unfairness. The weight of these documents could be assessed without undue influence from other unrecovered records of the Commission.
The court ordered that all the documents in question, which had been ruled admissible, were to be included as evidence in the trial. This decision was based on the documents' relevance to the case and their probative value, which outweighed any potential prejudice to the accused.
Orders
Orders of the court
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Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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