The Queen v Law

The case of *The Queen v Law* involved an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory by the defendants, who had been convicted of unlawfully entering a prohibited area and using a camera in that area. The Crown also appealed against the sentences imposed. The central dispute concerned whether the area in question was lawfully declared a "prohibited area" under the relevant Act.

The legal issues before the court were whether the trial judge had erred in excluding evidence relevant to the defendants' challenge to the prohibited area declaration and whether a failure to leave a particular question for the jury constituted a miscarriage of justice. The court was required to interpret sections of the Act defining "prohibited areas" and "special defence undertakings," including the conditions under which an area could be declared as such and the exceptions to this declaration.

The court found that errors had occurred during the trial, specifically the wrongful exclusion of evidence and the failure to allow the jury to consider a relevant issue. These errors were deemed to have resulted in a miscarriage of justice. Consequently, the court allowed the appeals against conviction. The Crown's appeal against sentence was abandoned, and no retrial was ordered, leading to the acquittal of the defendants.