R v Krivosic (No. 2)

In the case of R v Krivosic, the defendant stood accused of murder. The proceedings were held in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The case involved a complex dispute over the murder charge, with additional references to the accused's alleged involvement in drug supply. This additional reference was made during the trial and prompted the accused to seek a discharge of the jury, arguing that the mention of drug supply was prejudicial and could not be disregarded.

The legal issues before the court were whether the reference to drug supply by the accused was sufficiently prejudicial to warrant a discharge of the jury and whether the trial judge exercised the relevant discretion correctly in refusing the discharge. The defence argued that the mention of drug supply was an impermissible reference to the accused's criminal propensity and unrelated to the murder charge, thereby prejudicing the jury. The prosecution, on the other hand, contended that the reference was incidental and did not have a significant impact on the fairness of the trial.

The court examined the discretion available to it under the common law to discharge a jury where evidence is introduced that may prejudice the defendant. The court considered the context in which the reference to drug supply was made, its relevance to the murder charge, and whether it was an isolated incident or part of a pattern of prejudicial evidence. After careful deliberation, the court determined that the reference was not so prejudicial as to necessitate a discharge of the jury. The trial judge had exercised the relevant discretion correctly, and thus the application for discharge was refused. The court found that the reference, while prejudicial, did not undermine the fairness of the trial to a degree that would require a discharge.