The Court ruled that Crown tendency evidence comprising three charged acts and seven prior instances of the accused's violence and threats against the deceased was admissible under ss 97 and 101(2) of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT) to prove multiple tendencies including violent disposition, willingness to injure, desire to injure or kill, making threats, and biting during assaults. The Court held that where opportunity evidence independently linked the accused to the offence, close similarity between tendency evidence and the charged conduct was not required under TL v The King, and that using evidence of charged acts for tendency reasoning in proof of those same acts does not involve impermissible circular reasoning following The King v AR. The Court also rejected the defence argument that tendency notices cannot identify hypothetical defences as facts in issue, holding this is commonplace given the accused's right to silence.
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