Stott v The Queen (No 2)

The appeal before the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Court of Appeal, concerned a conviction for serious drug trafficking. The appellant, Stott, sought to appeal against this conviction.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the trial judge's directions to the jury regarding the concept of "reasonable possibility" in relation to the offence were erroneous. The Court was required to determine if this alleged error had deprived the appellant of a chance of acquittal and, if so, whether the proviso to the appeal powers should be applied.

The Court found that the trial judge's direction on "reasonable possibility" was indeed erroneous. Applying the principles of appellate review, the Court concluded that the error was significant enough to have prejudiced the appellant's case, meaning the appellant had lost a real chance of being acquitted. Consequently, the Court upheld the appeal against the conviction on Count 1 of the Indictment.

The Court ordered that the conviction on Count 1 be set aside and that a new trial be held for that count. Leave was also granted to amend the Notice of Appeal and to rely on a new ground of appeal, notwithstanding the failure to seek a redirection at trial.