R v Qaumi and Qaumi (No 9)

In the case of R v Qaumi and Qaumi (No 9), the appellants were convicted of various offences, including murder, and the matter proceeded to appeal. The dispute before the court centred on the admissibility of DNA evidence presented by the Crown. The appellants contended that the DNA evidence, which indicated their presence on the murder weapon, was inadmissible due to the Crown's inability to explain its presence. The Crown argued that the evidence was admissible and that secondary transfer was a plausible explanation for the presence of the DNA.

The court was tasked with determining whether the DNA evidence was properly admissible and whether the Crown's late introduction of expert evidence to explain the secondary transfer of DNA was permissible. The court considered whether the Crown had laid a sufficient evidentiary foundation for the expert evidence and whether the timing of the introduction of this evidence rendered it unfair to the defence.

The court concluded that the DNA evidence was admissible as it was properly explained through expert testimony, despite the late introduction of this evidence. The court held that the Crown had laid an adequate foundation for the expert evidence and that the late introduction did not render the trial unfair. Consequently, the appellants' convictions were upheld. The court found that the Crown had satisfactorily explained the presence of the DNA evidence through expert testimony, which addressed the possibility of secondary transfer.