R v Keenan

The High Court of Australia considered the appeal of R v Keenan, where the appellant had been convicted of murder. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of a confession made by the appellant to police.

The High Court was required to determine whether the confession was improperly obtained, thereby rendering it inadmissible under the common law. Specifically, the Court had to assess whether the police conduct in obtaining the confession was so unfair or oppressive as to warrant its exclusion, notwithstanding its apparent reliability.

The Court applied the principle that confessions obtained by unfair or oppressive means are inadmissible at common law. It examined the circumstances surrounding the appellant's interview, including the length of the interview, the appellant's state of intoxication, and the nature of the questioning. The Court found that while the interview was lengthy and the appellant was intoxicated, the police had not acted unfairly or oppressively in a manner that would justify excluding the confession. The Court emphasised that the discretion to exclude a confession is a broad one, to be exercised with caution, and that the mere fact that an accused is intoxicated does not automatically render a confession inadmissible.

The appeal was dismissed.