The Queen v [ ] Craig

The case involved an appeal by Craig against his conviction for injuring with intent to injure, which occurred on 10 January 1991. The appellant was sentenced to a short-term imprisonment, but his appeal against conviction was dismissed on the papers on 13 June 1991. The appeal was later reheard in accordance with the judgment of the Privy Council in R v Taito. The basis of the appeal was new evidence that was said to have been unavailable to the appellant at his trial.

The court was required to decide whether the new evidence was fresh, credible and cogent, and whether it would have led to a different verdict if given at trial. The court also had to consider the interests of justice in deciding whether to admit the new evidence. The court considered the principles of appeals based on new evidence, which require that such new evidence is not available at trial and is credible and cogent in the sense that if given at trial it may have resulted in a different verdict.

The court found that the evidence of the appellant was not fresh, as he could have alleged at trial that Mr Hinds was the offender. However, the evidence of Messrs Hinds and MacFadgen was fresh, as it was unavailable at trial due to their lack of co-operation and hostility to the criminal justice system. The court also found that the evidence of Mr Hinds was sufficiently cogent to warrant the allowing of the appeal, as it may have raised sufficient doubt in the minds of the jury to warrant an acquittal. The court quashed the conviction and directed that a judgment and verdict of acquittal be entered.