WJW v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by WJW against a conviction for sexual offences. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during the trial, specifically evidence relating to the complainant's prior sexual history. The appeal was heard by Gleeson CJ and Heydon J.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting evidence of the complainant's sexual history, which WJW argued was irrelevant and prejudicial. This raised questions about the proper application of the rules of evidence, particularly concerning the admissibility of character evidence and the potential for such evidence to unfairly prejudice the accused.

The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the admission of the evidence in question was a material error. Their Honours reasoned that the evidence was not relevant to any issue in the case and that its prejudicial effect outweighed any probative value it might have had. The principles applied concerned the fundamental right of an accused to a fair trial, which includes protection against the admission of irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial material.

The High Court ordered that the conviction be quashed and remitted the matter to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for a retrial.