Bosch (a pseudonym) v The King

[2025] VSCA 257

Victorian Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Interlocutory appeal
3. › Application for leave to appeal
4. › Exclusion of evidence
5. › Whether trial judge erred in assessing probative value of circumstantial evidence
6. › Whether trial judge erred in assessing unfair prejudice
7. › Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 137
1. Criminal Law
2. › Drug offences
3. › Trafficking in drug of dependence
4. › Possession for sale
5. › Circumstantial evidence of knowing possession
6. › Evidence of drugs found in proximity to accused's bed in sole-occupancy apartment
7. › Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic), ss 5, 70(1), 71AA(1), 73(1), 73(2)
1. Evidence
2. › Exclusion of evidence
3. › Probative value outweighed by danger of unfair prejudice
4. › Circumstantial evidence considered as a whole
5. › Measures available at trial to address potential prejudice
6. › Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 137

Quick Take

Evidence of drugs and cash found in close proximity to an accused's bed in a small sole-occupancy apartment is highly probative of knowing possession even without DNA or fingerprint evidence, and investigative deficiencies can be addressed by forensic disadvantage directions rather than exclusion under s 137.

Case Details

Citation[2025] VSCA 257

CourtVSCA

JurisdictionVictoria

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