R v Rolfe

This matter concerned an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which had stayed proceedings against Constable Rolfe. Constable Rolfe was charged with the murder and manslaughter of an Aboriginal teenager, Kumanjayi Walker, in Yuendumu, Northern Territory, in November 2019. The Director sought to reinstate the murder charge, which had been stayed by the trial judge.

The central legal issue before the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales was whether the trial judge had erred in law by staying the murder charge against Constable Rolfe. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the evidence presented at the committal hearing was sufficient to support a finding of a prima facie case for murder, and whether the trial judge had correctly applied the principles governing the exercise of a power to stay criminal proceedings.

The Court of Criminal Appeal found that the trial judge had erred in law. Gleeson J, delivering the judgment of the court, held that the evidence was capable of supporting a finding of murder, and that the trial judge had misconstrued the relevant legal principles when deciding to stay the proceedings. The court determined that the evidence, when viewed in its entirety, was sufficient to establish a prima facie case for murder, and that the question of whether the killing amounted to murder was a matter for the jury to determine.

Consequently, the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered that the stay of proceedings on the charge of murder be set aside, and that the murder charge be reinstated. The matter was remitted to the Supreme Court for further proceedings.