Ruggiero and Anor v The Queen

In *Ruggiero and Anor v The Queen*, the appellants, Ruggiero and another, appealed to the High Court of Australia against their convictions for conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained through electronic surveillance, specifically recordings made pursuant to a warrant issued under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth).

The High Court was required to determine whether the recordings, which captured conversations between the appellants and a third party, were admissible in evidence. The primary legal issue revolved around the interpretation of section 27H of the *Crimes Act 1914*, which governs the use of information obtained under a warrant, and whether the recordings constituted "information obtained under a warrant" for the purposes of that section. A further issue was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting the recordings, notwithstanding potential breaches of the Act.

The Court reasoned that the recordings were not merely "information obtained under a warrant" in the sense contemplated by section 27H, but rather were the direct product of the surveillance authorised by the warrant. Consequently, the restrictions imposed by section 27H on the use of such information did not apply. The Court affirmed that the admissibility of evidence obtained in contravention of statutory provisions is a matter for the trial judge's discretion, to be exercised by balancing the probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial effect. In this instance, the trial judge had properly exercised that discretion.

The appeals were dismissed.