R v LJM

This matter concerns an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicant, R v LJM, sought leave to appeal against a decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The Federal Court had upheld an appeal against the applicant's conviction for committing an act of indecency upon a child who was eight years of age at the time of the alleged offence.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Federal Court erred in finding the jury's verdict unsafe and unsatisfactory. This determination involved an assessment of the complainant's evidence, including perceived inconsistencies, and other unexplained circumstances that arose during the trial.

The Federal Court's majority found the verdict unsafe and unsatisfactory, despite acknowledging that the complainant's account was not inherently implausible and that she had been an impressive witness. Their reasoning focused on certain inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence, particularly regarding the shutting of doors on earlier occasions and specific details of the incident on 30 April, such as whether she was picked out of bed or got out herself, and the positions of herself and the appellant during the reading. The majority also noted that the complainant's account was uncorroborated and highlighted several puzzling and unexplained circumstances, many of which stemmed from the evidence of the complainant's mother. The court explicitly stated it did not impute improper behaviour to the mother but found the dynamics between the parties difficult to understand.