Coomer v WA

[2024] WASCA 133

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against conviction
3. › Unreasonable verdict
4. › Identity as sole issue at trial
5. › Whether verdict unreasonable having regard to identification evidence
6. › Criminal Appeals Act 2004 (WA), s 30(3)(a)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against conviction
3. › Miscarriage of justice
4. › Identification evidence
5. › Recognition evidence based on social media
6. › Whether admission of recognition evidence from witnesses who knew accused only through social media occasioned miscarriage of justice
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against conviction
3. › Miscarriage of justice
4. › Identification evidence
5. › Relevance of witness identification from video footage
6. › Whether evidence identifying accused in mobile phone footage was irrelevant under [name withheld] v The Queen
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against conviction
3. › Miscarriage of justice
4. › Onus of proof
5. › Whether prosecutor's cross-examination and closing submissions wrongly reversed onus of proof on identity

Quick Take

Recognition evidence based on social media photographs (e.g. Instagram, Facebook) is admissible, and the absence of the underlying social media images does not render such evidence inadmissible, though it may affect weight. The distinction between [name withheld] v The Queen (comparison evidence) and evidence where a witness identifies a person they already know from prior knowledge in video footage is confirmed.