Re Lee; Ex Parte Harper

The High Court of Australia considered an application for a writ of prohibition in the matter of *Re Lee; Ex Parte Harper*. The applicant, Harper, sought to prohibit the respondent, Lee, from continuing proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the validity of a search warrant issued under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) and the subsequent seizure of documents.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the search warrant was validly issued, specifically concerning the requirement that the justice of the peace issuing the warrant must have reasonable grounds for believing that the offence had been, or was suspected to have been, committed. The court also had to determine whether the information laid before the justice of the peace was sufficient to satisfy this requirement.

The High Court held that the justice of the peace must apply their own mind to the information before them and form their own belief, rather than merely accepting the belief of the informant. The court found that the information laid before the justice of the peace in this instance did not disclose sufficient grounds for the justice to form a reasonable belief that the offence had been committed. Consequently, the search warrant was invalid.

The High Court made absolute the order nisi for a writ of prohibition, quashing the search warrant and prohibiting further proceedings based upon it.