Tran v The Queen [2011] HCATrans 30

The High Court of Australia, constituted by French CJ and Bell J, considered an application for special leave to appeal in the matter of *Tran v The Queen*. The applicant, Mr Tran, sought leave to appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of Queensland Court of Appeal, which had dismissed his appeal against his conviction for a number of offences.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Court of Appeal had erred in its assessment of the evidence presented at trial, particularly concerning the applicant's alleged admissions. Specifically, the High Court was asked to consider whether the Court of Appeal had correctly applied the principles governing the admissibility and weight of such admissions, and whether it had adequately addressed the grounds of appeal raised by the applicant concerning the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction.

The High Court granted special leave to appeal. In their joint reasons, French CJ and Bell J indicated that the appeal would likely succeed on the basis that the Court of Appeal had failed to properly consider the evidence relating to the alleged admissions. Their Honours noted that the Court of Appeal's judgment appeared to have overlooked or misapprehended significant aspects of the evidence, which were crucial to the determination of the applicant's guilt. The High Court concluded that there was a real prospect of an appeal succeeding.

The High Court ordered that special leave to appeal be granted.