CRIME — Appeal and review — Appeal from Local Court to District Court — By person convicted against conviction — Unlawful entry on inclosed lands — Admissions made to police in the course of exercise of stop and search power — Proper construction of s 36 of LEPRA — Grounds for suspicion said to be relied on not reasonable grounds — Evidence of admissions excluded
Quick Take
1Under s 36 of LEPRA, the court must first identify a subjective suspicion held by the officer, then separately and objectively determine whether the grounds for that suspicion were 'reasonable grounds' as a matter of law — the suspicion itself need not be reasonable, but the grounds supporting it must be.
2A person's brief attendance at a large multi-unit residential premises known for drug supply does not, without more, constitute a reasonable ground for suspicion of drug possession, as such a standard would permit stop and search of anyone living near or visiting such premises ad infinitum.
3Prior fruitless stop and searches of a person by other officers cannot support reasonable grounds for a fresh search, as permitting such reliance would create a self-fulfilling prophecy that inverts the protective intention of the legislation.
