Supreme Court of Western Australia

The Supreme Court of Western Australia heard an appeal from a conviction by the District Court of Western Australia. The appellant, a former police officer, was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The offence was alleged to have occurred on a date during a period when the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code (WA) had been repealed and replaced with new provisions. The appellant argued that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence meant that it could not be determined whether the offence was committed under the old provisions or the new provisions. The court was required to decide whether the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence was a sufficient ground for setting aside the conviction.
The court found that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence was a sufficient ground for setting aside the conviction. The court noted that the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was a separate offence under both the old and new provisions of the Criminal Code. The court held that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence meant that it could not be determined which offence the appellant was charged with. The court held that this uncertainty was fatal to the conviction. The court further held that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence was not a matter that could be resolved by the jury, as it was a question of law. The court held that the conviction should therefore be set aside and a judgment of acquittal entered.
The appeal was allowed, the conviction was set aside and a judgment of acquittal was entered. The court held that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence was a sufficient ground for setting aside the conviction. The court held that the uncertainty of the date of the alleged offence was a question of law that could not be resolved by the jury. The court held that the conviction should therefore be set aside and a judgment of acquittal entered.