Thomas v The Queen & Anor

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Thomas against his conviction for murder. The appeal concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained from a search of the appellant's property. The primary issue was whether the evidence, which included a firearm and ammunition, was obtained in contravention of the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) and, if so, whether it should have been excluded from the trial.

The central legal question before the High Court was whether the police had lawful authority to conduct the search that yielded the crucial evidence. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the search warrant was validly issued under section 3L of the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth), which requires reasonable grounds to believe that a search will yield evidence of a federal offence. The Court also considered the application of s 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth), which governs the exclusion of improperly or illegally obtained evidence.

The High Court held that the search warrant was invalid because the police had not established reasonable grounds to believe that the search would yield evidence of a federal offence. The information before the issuing officer did not support the belief that the appellant was involved in any federal crime. Consequently, the evidence obtained from the search was unlawfully obtained. Applying s 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth), the Court found that the admission of this evidence would have been unfair to the appellant and that its probative value did not outweigh the public interest in discouraging unlawful conduct by law enforcement.

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