Ware v Director of Public Prosecutions

The applicant, Ware, appealed against his conviction for a sexual offence. The appeal was brought under rule 5531 of the *Court Procedures Rules 2006* (ACT) and was heard by Loukas-Karlsson, Baker and Taylor JJ of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The central dispute concerned the adequacy of the primary judge's directions to the jury regarding the issue of consent.

The court was required to determine whether the primary judge's directions on consent were adequate, particularly in light of the reasonableness of the accused person's belief as to consent. A further issue was the appropriateness of the primary judge using a hypothetical example in their directions to the jury. The applicant had not raised any objection to the directions at the trial.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, refusing leave to appeal. Their Honours held that the primary judge's directions, when read as a whole, adequately conveyed the relevant legal principles concerning consent and the accused's belief. The court found that the directions, including the hypothetical example, were not misleading or unfair to the applicant, especially given that no objection was taken at the time of trial. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.