R v Landon

The Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia heard an appeal by the defendant, R v Landon, against his conviction. The central dispute concerned the alleged wrongful admission of expert evidence at trial and a subsequent misdirection by the trial judge concerning that evidence.

The Court was required to determine whether the expert evidence admitted at trial was improperly received, and if so, whether the trial judge’s summing up in relation to that evidence constituted a misdirection. The Court also considered the overall impact of these alleged errors on the fairness of the trial.

In its reasoning, the Court applied principles relating to the admissibility of expert evidence and the duty of a trial judge to accurately direct the jury. The Court found that the expert evidence had indeed been wrongly admitted and that the summing up contained a misdirection. Consequently, the Court concluded that the conviction could not stand and ordered a retrial.