Seller and The Queen

The case of *Seller and The Queen* concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia following a conviction for murder. The appellant, Mr. Seller, had been found guilty of murder by a jury in the Supreme Court of Victoria and subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal of Victoria, which dismissed his appeal. The central dispute revolved around the admissibility of certain evidence during his trial.

The High Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the appellant's prior convictions and, if so, whether that error had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice. This involved considering the application of s 101 of the *Uniform Evidence Law* (Victoria), which governs the admissibility of evidence of a person's character or previous convictions. The court also had to assess whether the admission of this evidence had unfairly prejudiced the appellant's case in the eyes of the jury.

In their joint judgment, Hayne, Bell and Gageler JJ held that the admission of the evidence of prior convictions was an error. Their Honours reasoned that the evidence was not relevant to any issue in the trial and was therefore inadmissible under s 101. The court found that the prejudicial effect of this evidence, which suggested a propensity on the part of the appellant to commit criminal acts, far outweighed any probative value it might have had. Consequently, the High Court concluded that the error had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice.

The High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction for murder, and ordered a new trial.