R v Fleming

The appeal concerned a conviction for persistent sexual exploitation, where the appellant argued that a miscarriage of justice had occurred during his trial. The central dispute revolved around the trial judge's decisions regarding the admission and handling of evidence, and the subsequent directions given to the jury.

The court was required to determine whether the trial judge erred in refusing to discharge the jury after evidence of domestic violence was inadvertently introduced. Further, the court had to consider whether the trial judge's comments on the appellant's evidence of memory loss, and the judge's summation of the victim's mother's evidence concerning the appellant's denial of wrongdoing, constituted a miscarriage of justice.

The Full Court dismissed the appeal, finding that no miscarriage of justice had occurred. The court held that it must be presumed the jury followed the trial judge's directions regarding the domestic violence evidence. Similarly, the judge's remarks about the appellant's memory and the summation of the victim's mother's evidence were found not to have occasioned a miscarriage of justice, as the ultimate determination of whether a miscarriage occurred was dependent on the specific circumstances of the case.