Woods v The Queen

Woods appealed his conviction for murder in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The appeal concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained from a search of Woods' property and the subsequent use of that evidence at trial.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the evidence obtained from the search was unlawfully obtained, and if so, whether it should have been excluded from admission at trial under the *Uniform Evidence Law*. Specifically, the Court considered the application of s 138 of the *Uniform Evidence Law*, which governs the exclusion of improperly or illegally obtained evidence.

The High Court held that the search of Woods' property was unlawful because the police did not have a valid search warrant at the time of the search. Consequently, the evidence obtained from the search was improperly obtained. However, the Court found that the admission of this evidence at trial did not occasion a substantial miscarriage of justice, and therefore the appeal was dismissed. The Court applied the principles of s 138, balancing the desirability of admitting relevant evidence against the impropriety of its acquisition.