R v Cairney (No 14)

In this case, the respondent, Cairney, applied to discharge the jury on the basis that the Crown had breached the principles of fairness by introducing evidence of a photoshopped crime scene photograph. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Cairney argued that the use of such a photograph may lead the jury to form an unreasonable view that the defence sought to unfairly challenge the integrity of the crime scene investigation.

The court considered whether there was a real risk that the jury would form an unreasonable view of the defence's challenges to the crime scene investigation, given that the defence had not yet presented their case and the additional evidence required to properly assess the Crown's case may need an independent expert opinion. The court held that the Crown could meet defence challenges during the presentation of the Crown case, as it was not necessary for the defence to present their case before the Crown could address any challenges to their evidence. Therefore, the court refused the application to discharge the jury.

The court found that the Crown was entitled to present its case, including any evidence it considered necessary, and that the defence could address any challenges to the Crown's evidence during their presentation of their case. The court held that there was no real risk that the jury would form an unreasonable view of the defence's challenges to the crime scene investigation, as the jury would be able to properly assess the evidence presented by both parties and make a fair and informed decision.

The court refused the application to discharge the jury and ordered that the trial would continue as scheduled. The court also noted that the respondent was free to make any further applications if additional evidence or arguments arose during the trial.