In a circumstantial evidence case where the Crown relies on the combined force of a series of circumstances to prove guilt, it will not often be the case that any one particular evidential circumstance will, by itself, amount to an implied admission of guilt requiring an Edwards direction. Where trial counsel specifically requests the judge not to give a consciousness of guilt direction, it will be unusual for an appellate court to find miscarriage. The accidental malfunction of a tape recorder, where police genuinely attempted to record admissions, constitutes exceptional circumstances under s.464H(2) of the Crimes Act 1958 justifying admission of unrecorded admissions.
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