R v Collins

In this case, the appellant, Collins, was convicted of grievous bodily harm against his de facto partner. The prosecution's case was primarily circumstantial, relying on the complainant's testimony that she was regularly assaulted by Collins when he was intoxicated, and the presence of her blood on Collins' shoes and in the bedroom they shared. The trial judge allowed the appeal against the conviction on the basis that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, but the Crown appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Crown argued that the jury's verdict was reasonable given the evidence of intoxication, the complainant's history of being assaulted by Collins, and the medical evidence indicating that the complainant's injuries were unlikely to have been caused by anything other than a blow to the head.

The Court of Appeal held that the verdict was not unreasonable or insupportable, and dismissed the appeal against the conviction. The Court found that the evidence, while circumstantial, was sufficient to support the jury's verdict, particularly given the complainant's history of being assaulted by Collins when he was drunk, and the presence of her blood on Collins' shoes and in the bedroom they shared. The Court also noted that the inconsistencies in the prosecution witness's testimony were explored by defence counsel and referred to in the summing up, and that the defence case was fairly summarised by the trial judge.

The Court also considered the Crown's appeal against the sentence, which was a suspended sentence of four years imprisonment with an operational period of five years, and lesser concurrent terms of imprisonment for other offences. The Court found that the sentence was not manifestly excessive, taking into account the appellant's history of violence towards others and previous violence towards the complainant, the breach of domestic violence orders, and the fact that two of the offences were committed while on bail. The Court refused the application for leave to appeal against the sentence.