Sloan v The Queen

In Sloan v The Queen, the applicant appealed against his conviction for armed robbery, arguing that the conviction was unreasonable due to the evidence regarding the presence of his DNA on a stocking worn over the face of one of the masked offenders. The case was heard in the High Court of Australia. The appeal centred on the interpretation and application of the test for determining whether a conviction is unreasonable, as established in previous case law.

The primary legal issue the court had to resolve was whether the inference that the applicant's DNA was deposited on the stocking during the robbery was unreasonable. The court considered whether the possibility of indirect transference of the DNA could undermine the reliability of this inference. Additionally, the court examined whether there was a reasonable alternative hypothesis that could account for the presence of the applicant's DNA on the stocking. The applicant argued that there was a significant chance his DNA could have been transferred indirectly, possibly by coming into contact with the stocking at a different time or place.

The court found that the evidence strongly pointed to the applicant depositing his DNA on the stocking during the robbery. The presence of the discarded clothes of the offenders nearby, along with the applicant's DNA on the stocking, supported the inference that the applicant was one of the offenders. The court held that there was no reasonable alternative hypothesis that could account for the presence of the DNA, and the possibility of indirect transference did not make the conviction unreasonable. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal, affirming the conviction as reasonable.

The court did not make any specific orders beyond dismissing the appeal and affirming the conviction. The applicant's arguments were found to be insufficient to overturn the conviction based on the evidence presented.