Heathcote v King

[2002] WASCA 1

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Appeals
3. › Extension of time
4. › Substantial delay
5. › Whether exceptional circumstances or substantial miscarriage of justice
6. › Justices Act 1902 (WA), s 184(1)
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Apprehended bias
3. › Magistrate hearing subsequent case involving same witness
4. › Whether adverse credibility findings in earlier case gave rise to reasonable apprehension of bias
5. › Whether magistrate should have disqualified himself
1. Criminal Law
2. › Defences
3. › Honest and reasonable mistake of fact
4. › Vicarious liability of employer for employee's offences
5. › Whether defence under s 24 of Criminal Code (WA) available on prosecution of employer
6. › Whether employee's evidence should have been permitted
7. › Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers Act 1994 (WA), s 41(e), s 88
8. › Criminal Code 1913 (WA), s 24
1. Criminal Law
2. › Statutory offences
3. › Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers
4. › Obligation to record descriptions of goods
5. › Vicarious liability of licensee for employee
6. › Defence of reasonable steps
7. › Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers Act 1994 (WA), s 41(e), s 88(2)(b)

Quick Take

Vicarious liability under s 88 of the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 1994 (WA) is derivative: if the employee has not committed an offence (including by reason of the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact under s 24 of the Criminal Code), the employer cannot be vicariously liable. On a prosecution of the employer under s 88, the employer is entitled to adduce evidence going to whether the employee committed the underlying offence, including evidence raising a s 24 defence in respect of the employee's conduct. A magistrate who prevents such evidence from being adduced commits an error of law. The fact that a magistrate has heard a previous case involving the same witness and made a finding adverse to that witness on a peripheral point does not, without more, give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.