R v S, DD

The appeal concerned the admissibility of evidence and the propriety of jury verdicts in a criminal trial. The appellant, R, was convicted of certain offences, but appealed against these convictions. The dispute centred on the way evidence of uncharged acts and complaint evidence was presented to the jury, and whether the jury's verdicts were inconsistent. The appeal was heard by Duggan, Anderson and Peek JJ.

The court was required to determine whether the trial judge had misdirected the jury regarding the use of complaint evidence and evidence of uncharged acts. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the jury was properly instructed on how to treat evidence of alleged sexual interference that was not the subject of specific charges, and whether the fact of a complaint and its details were used appropriately. Furthermore, the court had to assess whether the jury's verdicts were so inconsistent as to be unreasonable and unsafe, and if so, whether a retrial should be ordered.

The court found that there had been misdirections amounting to errors in law concerning the complaint evidence and uncharged acts. The judges reasoned that the way these matters were presented created a real danger that the jury would treat the uncharged acts as establishing the charged offence, particularly the first alleged incident. The court also considered the principle that if a verdict is found to be unreasonable or unsafe due to inconsistency, a retrial should not be ordered, especially if it would fundamentally alter the basis of the prosecution's case.

The appeal was allowed on the grounds of misdirection and the unreasonableness of the verdicts. The court concluded that the proviso, which allows an appeal court to dismiss an appeal despite a misdirection if it is satisfied that no substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred, could not be applied in this case. Consequently, the court determined that a retrial should not be ordered, as the appellant would be prejudiced by facing a trial on a fundamentally different basis from the first.