The Court held that evidence of the accused's intoxication from a police interview was admissible in a manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act re-trial where the prosecution alleged specific intent (to hit the deceased's head with a bottle and to kick him to the ground), as intoxication was highly probative of why the accused may have formed those intentions and did not engage tendency reasoning under s 97 of the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic). However, evidence of the specific quantity of alcohol consumed was excluded as its marginal probative value was outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Evidence of the accused's stated belief that the deceased had grabbed his partner was also excluded, as the CCTV footage incontrovertibly showed no basis for such a belief, rendering the statements of little probative value and unfairly prejudicial in providing a false narrative of motive.
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