BETWEEN ATTORNEY-GENERAL First Appellant REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT Second Appellant AND VINCENT ROSS SIEMER Respondent

The appeal involved the Attorney-General and the Registrar of the Supreme Court as appellants against Vincent Ross Siemer as the respondent. The central issue was the admissibility of a conviction for careless driving in a civil proceeding for negligence brought by the deceased's estate against Siemer. The appellants argued that the conviction should be admissible as it was relevant to Siemer's negligence, while Siemer contended that the conviction was inadmissible under the rule in Hollington v Hewthorn, which precludes the admission of a judgment in personam in civil proceedings between strangers.

The court examined whether the conviction could be admitted as evidence under the Evidence Act, considering its relevance and probative value. The court noted that the conviction, as a judgment in personam, was not admissible as it was merely an opinion that Siemer was guilty of careless driving, which was irrelevant to the civil proceeding. The court also considered the potential for prejudice and the risk of unfairly affecting Siemer, who had no opportunity to defend himself in the criminal proceeding. The court held that the conviction did not meet the criteria for admissibility under the Evidence Act, reinforcing the rule in Hollington v Hewthorn.

The court concluded that the conviction was inadmissible as it was irrelevant opinion evidence that did not meet the requirements for admissibility under the Evidence Act. The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction was ruled inadmissible in the civil proceeding. The final orders of the court were that the appeal be dismissed and that the conviction be excluded from evidence in the civil proceeding.