A magistrate's decision to order a forensic procedure under s 34 of the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 (ACT) is administrative in character and amenable to judicial review under the AD(JR) Act. The balancing exercise under s 34(2) is unconfined, and the admissibility of other evidence available to the prosecution is a permissible consideration. The reasons of a magistrate exercising this power are to be read with appropriate benevolence, not minutely and finely with an eye keenly attuned to the perception of error.
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