The Court granted an application for trial by judge alone in a murder case where the sole issue at trial was unsoundness of mind under s 27 of the Criminal Code (WA), both expert psychiatrists agreed the accused was experiencing an acute psychotic episode at the time of the offending, and no factual issues requiring the application of objective community standards arose. The Court confirmed that while insanity defence cases are often suitable for judge alone trials, this is not axiomatic and depends on the circumstances, including whether there are additional factual disputes engaging community standards. The Court also directed the parties to prepare an agreed statement of material facts rather than tendering the entire State brief of evidence.
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