Where a co-accused gives evidence at a joint trial, the obligation to warn the jury about unreliable evidence under s 165(2) of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) is only engaged upon request by a party; the former common law obligation to warn about accomplice evidence has been displaced by the statutory scheme. Evidence of a co-accused's immigration status (being an unlawful non-citizen) goes only to credibility in a case involving violence, and may properly be excluded under ss 103 and 135 where its probative value is not substantial and is outweighed by prejudicial effect. Section 44 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) does not impose a 'statutory norm' but constrains the power to expand the balance of term beyond one-third of the non-parole period.
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