Where an applicant seeks to go behind a guilty plea on the basis of a psychiatric report obtained after sentencing, and that report is based substantially on a new account provided by the applicant which was always available to him, the evidence is new evidence, not fresh evidence. The credibility of the applicant's new account is a central question, and the Court will assess it against the totality of prior accounts given to police, psychiatrists and lawyers. A diagnosis of substance induced psychotic illness cannot support either a defence of mental illness or a partial defence of substantial impairment under s 23A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 9 later cases that cite this judgment.