Van Houten v The King

The appeal concerned a conviction recorded on a guilty plea by the appellant, Van Houten, following a search of his vehicle. The search was conducted as part of a Drug Transit Route established by police on the outskirts of Victor Harbor during the lead-up to Schoolies festivities. The appellant challenged the validity of the authorisation for the Drug Transit Route, arguing that police lacked the necessary reasonable suspicion to conduct the search. The matter was heard by Lovell and David JJ and Mazza AJ.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the evidence obtained from the search of the appellant's vehicle should have been excluded. This required the court to consider the validity of the Drug Transit Route authorisation and, if the search was unlawful, whether the discretion under *Bunning v Cross* should have been exercised to exclude the illegally obtained evidence. The appellant's challenge to the authorisation itself was not pursued on appeal.

The court found that the trial judge had correctly determined that any non-compliance with general orders regarding the authorisation of the Drug Transit Route was minor and did not invalidate the authorisation. Furthermore, the court indicated that even if it were required to exercise the discretion under *Bunning v Cross* afresh, it would not have excluded the evidence. Consequently, the court concluded that the ground of appeal had not been made out.

The appeal was dismissed.