Tendency evidence of prior violence in non-self-defence situations is admissible on a charge of defensive homicide to prove the objective dimension — that there were no reasonable grounds for the accused's assumed self-defence belief. The Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) does not require substantial similarity between prior conduct and offending conduct as a prerequisite to admissibility; the degree of similarity is one factor in assessing probative value. Where a sentencing judge makes specific errors of fact, the appeal will still be dismissed if the Court is not persuaded a different sentence should be imposed under s 281(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic).
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.