Lawson v WA

[2008] WASCA 212

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal
3. › Miscarriage of justice
4. › Misdirection by trial judge
5. › Direction to jury to take into account accused's interest in outcome when assessing evidence
6. › Whether direction undermined presumption of innocence
7. › Whether redirection cured misdirection
8. › Whether conduct of counsel precluded reliance on misdirection
9. › Criminal Appeals Act 2004 (WA), s 30(3)(a)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Trial
3. › Directions to jury
4. › Evidence of accused
5. › Prohibition on directing jury to evaluate accused's evidence on basis of interest in outcome
6. › Robinson v The Queen (1991) 180 CLR 531
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal
3. › Verdict unreasonable or unsupported by evidence
4. › Independent assessment of evidence
5. › Whether dangerous to allow verdict to stand
6. › Criminal Appeals Act 2004 (WA), s 30(3)(a)
1. Evidence
2. › Hearsay
3. › Out-of-court statements by co-accused
4. › Whether confessions by persons other than the accused admissible as exception to hearsay rule
5. › Admissibility of co-accused's out-of-court statements in joint trial

Quick Take

A trial judge's direction to the jury to take into account the accused's interest in the outcome when assessing the accused's evidence remains a serious misdirection giving rise to a miscarriage of justice, regardless of whether the direction also states the accused's evidence should be assessed like any other witness, and regardless of the conduct of defence counsel at trial. The proviso cannot save such a misdirection. The existence of a hearsay exception for out-of-court confessions by persons other than the accused remains doubtful in Western Australia.