R v Mackie (No 4) [2019] NSWSC 457

R v Mackie (No 4) [2019] NSWSC 457

The DVD demonstration did not meet the test of relevance because showing a tall woman wielding a block splitter in various ways in the bathroom three years after the events could not rationally affect the assessment of whether the accused wielded a block splitter and attacked the deceased's head in the bathroom in October 2015.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 April 2019
Procedural Posture
Criminal Trial Evidence Ruling / Day Ten of Trial; Ruling on Admissibility of DVD Demonstration
Outcome
The DVD demonstration is rejected on the basis of relevance.
Legal Topics
['demonstration Evidence' 'relevance' 'discretionary Exclusion']
['evidence' 'criminal Law'] ['demonstration Evidence' 'relevance' 'discretionary Exclusion']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Trial Evidence Ruling / Day Ten of Trial; Ruling on Admissibility of DVD Demonstration

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether a DVD prepared in 2018 showing the officer in charge demonstrating the wielding of a block splitter in the bathroom was admissible as relevant evidence.' 'Whether the DVD should be excluded under s 135 or s 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The DVD demonstration did not meet the test of relevance because showing a tall woman wielding a block splitter in various ways in the bathroom three years after the events could not rationally affect the assessment of whether the accused wielded a block splitter and attacked the deceased's head in the bathroom in October 2015.

Court Disposition

The DVD demonstration is rejected on the basis of relevance.

Orders

  • ['The DVD demonstration is rejected on the basis of relevance.']