Rafferty v The King

Rafferty v The King is an appeal by the appellant against the determination of the Judge that he was involved in the assault that caused the death of Ms Smith. The appeal challenges the decision on two grounds: the Judge’s approach to determining the appellant’s role in the assault and the assessment of the evidence. The appellant argues that the Judge erred in not identifying his role when considering whether he had “caused the act or omission” that formed the basis of the offence of murder. The court had to decide whether the Judge’s approach to determining the appellant’s role was correct and whether there was a miscarriage of justice due to the assessment of the evidence. The Judge concluded that the evidence, when considered as a whole, pointed strongly to the appellant’s involvement in the assault that led to Ms Smith’s death. The Judge found that the appellant was present during the assault, that his DNA was found on the murder weapons and under the victim’s fingernails, and that his footprints were found inside and outside the unit. The Judge rejected the possibility of indirect transfer as an explanation for the presence of the appellant’s DNA on the knives and considered the totality of the evidence to support the conclusion of the appellant’s involvement. The appeal was dismissed, and the Judge’s determination of involvement was upheld. The Judge ordered that the appellant be detained in a hospital as a special patient for a maximum period of 10 years. The appellant’s condition will be subject to periodic reviews, and decisions about his day-to-day security will be made by the Minister of Health or the Director of Mental Health. If he is later assessed as being no longer unfit to stand trial, the Attorney-General may direct that he be brought back before the court.