When assessing the probative value of an admission under s 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), a trial judge must not treat an accompanying exculpatory explanation as diminishing the probative value of the admission. An admission as to a single element of an offence is sufficient for admissibility; it need not amount to an admission of criminality. The exculpatory explanation is separately admissible under s 81(2) but does not derogate from the admission itself. The question whether s 137 rulings attract House v The King error or a correctness standard of review remains open.
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