Where inadmissible evidence of an accused's prior criminal record is adduced at trial and no curative direction is given, the appellate court must independently assess whether the refusal to discharge the jury deprived the accused of a fair trial. The proviso in s 30(4) of the Criminal Appeals Act 2004 (WA) cannot save a conviction unless the appellate court can say with assurance that the conviction was inevitable absent the inadmissible evidence. Evidence of a lengthy prior sentence for an unspecified offence is highly prejudicial and likely to diminish the weight given to an accused's exculpatory statements, even where the prior conviction does not bear directly on the issues in contest.
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