R v Kostaras

In the case of R v Kostaras, the appellant was convicted of indecent assault by the District Court. The conviction was appealed to the South Australian Court of Criminal Appeal. The central dispute in this case concerns the credibility of the appellant's evidence and whether the jury was properly directed in considering this evidence. The appellant, a teacher, was accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct with a student. The primary evidence against the appellant included the testimony of the complainant and the appellant himself. The legal issues before the court were whether the trial judge had erred in the directions given to the jury regarding the assessment of the credibility of the appellant and whether these errors were so significant that they warranted a retrial.

The Court of Criminal Appeal found that the trial judge had indeed erred in the directions given to the jury regarding the credibility of the appellant. The trial judge had failed to sufficiently highlight the importance of assessing the appellant's credibility in light of the prior complaint made by another student, which suggested inappropriate conduct. The Court held that these errors in direction were substantial enough to potentially affect the outcome of the trial. Therefore, the appeal was allowed, the conviction was set aside, and a re-trial was ordered. The judges of the Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously agreed with the reasons provided by the Chief Justice and concurred with the proposed orders.