R v LBP

The Court of Appeal held that where an accused's admissions against interest cannot be specifically attributed to any particular count on an indictment, the trial judge must direct the jury that the admissions cannot be used as independent proof of guilt on any charged count but may only be used as circumstantial evidence of the relationship between the parties and as corroboration of the complainant's evidence. The failure to give such a direction constituted a miscarriage of justice under the Brawn v The King materiality test because it could realistically have affected the jury's reasoning, particularly given the pattern of acquittals on other counts suggesting the jury had doubts about the complainant's evidence. The Court also held that the trial judge's discretionary ruling to admit a recorded police field interview was not attended by House v The King error, and that the guilty verdicts on counts 10-13 were not inconsistent with the acquittals on other counts given obvious bases for reconciliation including the Clonidine timing issue affecting counts 8-9.