R v Emes

In *R v Emes*, the appellant, an 83-year-old man, appealed his conviction for sexual abuse against his wife's grandson, referred to as J, who was 21 at the time of trial. The allegations encompassed a range of sexual acts occurring when J was between the ages of five and 14. The appeal was heard by Kelly, Nicholson, and Hinton JJ.

The central legal issues before the court concerned the admissibility of text messages exchanged between the appellant and the complainant in September 2014, and the judge's summing up to the jury. The prosecution sought to tender these messages as admissions by the appellant, while the defence initially objected on grounds of provenance and relevance. The objection regarding provenance was withdrawn after the prosecution confirmed the phone number belonged to the appellant.

The court allowed the appeal, finding that the judge's summing up contained misdirections and non-directions that prejudiced the appellant. Specifically, the judge expressed his own opinion on the guilt of the appellant and the credibility of the complainant, which is impermissible. The judge also failed to adequately direct the jury on the limited purpose for which the text messages could be considered, particularly in light of the appellant's age and the complainant's age at the time of the alleged offences. The court held that the judge's conduct in expressing his personal views and failing to provide proper directions amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the conviction was quashed, and the matter was remitted to the District Court for a retrial.