R v Khan (No 4)

The matter involved an appeal by the respondent, Khan, against a decision to discharge the jury in his trial for offences of drug supply and trafficking. The decision was made by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The jury had been discharged after it was discovered that one juror had been approached by a third party outside of the court premises. This was the fourth iteration of the proceedings, as the matter had been previously heard on three occasions by different courts.

The central issue before the court was whether the interests of justice required the jury to be discharged and a retrial ordered. The court had to consider whether the approach to the juror outside of the court premises was a sufficiently serious incident to warrant the discharge of the jury, and whether it had the potential to affect the fairness of the trial. The court also needed to weigh the implications of a retrial for both the respondent and the community.

The court found that the approach to the juror was indeed a serious incident, given the potential for it to compromise the impartiality of the jury. The court emphasised the importance of maintaining public confidence in the justice system and the necessity of ensuring that trials are conducted in a fair and impartial manner. The court held that the interests of justice did warrant the discharge of the jury and the ordering of a retrial. The appeal was dismissed, and the jury's discharge was upheld.

The court ordered that the respondent be retried on the charges of drug supply and trafficking. The decision underscored the importance of ensuring that the integrity of the judicial process is not compromised by external influences, and that any incidents which may potentially affect the fairness of a trial are appropriately addressed.