R v Handlen

In the case of R v Handlen, the applicants sought to exclude evidence provided by a witness at their trial, alleging misconduct by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The applicants argued that the police had improperly induced witnesses, including a co-accused, and that the evidence was therefore unfairly obtained. The dispute was heard in the court, which had to determine whether to exclude the evidence under s 590AA of the Criminal Code. The applicants had previously raised similar issues in another application under s 590AA, prompting the court to consider whether this constituted an abuse of process and whether an issue estoppel was applicable in criminal law.

The court examined whether the conduct of the police breached the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) and the Corrective Services Act 2006 (Qld), and whether it was appropriate to exercise the Bunning v Cross discretion to exclude the evidence. The court considered the nature of the inducements offered by the police and whether it would be unfair to admit the evidence against the applicants. The applicants argued that the police conduct amounted to a breach of both the Commonwealth and Queensland statutes, and that the evidence should be excluded on the basis of unfairness under s 130 of the Evidence Act 1977.

After considering the evidence and arguments, the court found that the conduct of the police did not breach the applicable statutes. The court also held that the applicants' previous application under s 590AA did not constitute an abuse of process, and that issue estoppel was not applicable in this context. The court concluded that it would not be unfair to admit the evidence against the applicants. Consequently, the court dismissed all applications to exclude the evidence and ordered the proceedings to continue.