Ung v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the applicant, Mr. Ung, against his conviction for murder. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during his trial.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the applicant's prior convictions and prior bad character, which had been admitted under section 97 of the *Uniform Evidence Law* (NSW). This section deals with the admissibility of evidence of a person's character or reputation.

The High Court held that the evidence of prior convictions and bad character was improperly admitted. Their Honours reasoned that the evidence was not relevant to proving any fact in issue in the murder trial, nor was it admissible under any exception to the general rule excluding character evidence. The admission of this evidence was found to have created an unfair risk that the jury would convict the applicant based on his past conduct rather than on the evidence relating to the murder charge itself.

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