Van Der Meer v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the applicant, Van Der Meer, against his conviction for conspiracy to import a prohibited substance. The applicant had been found guilty by a jury in the Supreme Court of Victoria and subsequently appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which dismissed his appeal. The High Court then granted special leave to appeal.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by admitting evidence of the applicant's prior convictions. Specifically, the court had to determine if this evidence was improperly used to establish the applicant's propensity to commit the offence charged, thereby contravening the rule against character evidence being used to prove guilt.

The High Court held that the admission of the prior convictions was an error of law. The majority reasoned that the evidence of prior convictions was not relevant to proving any element of the offence of conspiracy charged, nor was it admissible under any exception to the general rule against character evidence. The evidence was presented in a manner that invited the jury to infer guilt based on the applicant's past criminal conduct, rather than on the evidence relating to the conspiracy itself. The court affirmed that evidence of prior convictions is generally inadmissible to prove that an accused committed the offence charged, unless it possesses a specific relevance beyond mere propensity.

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