The failure of a trial judge to direct the jury on the effect of the accused's exercise of the right to silence (an Azzopardi direction) constitutes a fundamental irregularity in Queensland, even where neither counsel requests such a direction. The NSW authorities of Richards and Graham, which held that the absence of such a direction was not a fundamental irregularity where the accused's version was before the jury in a record of interview, are distinguishable in Queensland because there is no comparable procedural rule to r 4 Criminal Appeal Rules 1952 (NSW). A Robinson warning directing the jury to scrutinise a complainant's evidence with care is adequate where the judge reminds the jury of the specific concerning features of the evidence and directs them to consider the material with great care before accepting it, even without using the precise formulation in the Bench Book.
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