Self-defence under Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 418 will not be left to the jury where the accused's own evidence does not support a belief that the conduct was necessary to defend another, and where the conduct (stabbing with a knife) could not objectively constitute a reasonable response to the perceived threat. The obligation under Pemble v The Queen to leave defences not raised by counsel does not extend to hypotheses that are speculative and unsupported by the evidence. An appeal court will refuse leave under Criminal Appeal Rules r 4 where the ground amounts to running a different case on appeal.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 11 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 11 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.