Police v DH [2014] NSWChC 3

Police v DH [2014] NSWChC 3

Because the prosecution case depended entirely on the evidence of the two police officers and the defence case put their conduct and credibility directly in issue, the defence established a legitimate forensic purpose for the complaints material and showed that it was on the cards that the documents, if they existed, would materially assist the defence. The complaints sought were not privileged under s 170 of the Police Act, the subpoena was not too wide, and it was not a fishing expedition.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 June 2014
Procedural Posture
Criminal Interlocutory Application Concerning Subpoena Production / Pre Hearing Application to Set Aside Paragraph (h) of a Subpoena
Outcome
Application to set aside the subpoena is dismissed.
Legal Topics
['legitimate Forensic Purpose' 'fishing Expedition' 'police Complaints' 'credit of Witnesses' 'tendency Evidence' 'police Act Privilege' 'access to Subpoenaed Documents']
['criminal Law' 'evidence' 'subpoenas' "children's Court Procedure"] ['legitimate Forensic Purpose' 'fishing Expedition' 'police Complaints' 'credit of Witnesses' 'tendency Evidence' 'police Act Privilege' 'access to Subpoenaed Documents']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Interlocutory Application Concerning Subpoena Production / Pre Hearing Application to Set Aside Paragraph (h) of a Subpoena

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether paragraph (h) of the subpoena seeking all complaints about two police officers lacked a legitimate forensic purpose and was a fishing expedition.' 'Whether documents sought by the subpoena were privileged under s 170 of the Police Act.' 'Whether s 97 of the Evidence Act 1995 applied at the pre-trial subpoena production stage.' 'Whether the defence should be permitted to inspect redacted versions of the documents produced under subpoena.']

Ratio Decidendi

Because the prosecution case depended entirely on the evidence of the two police officers and the defence case put their conduct and credibility directly in issue, the defence established a legitimate forensic purpose for the complaints material and showed that it was on the cards that the documents, if they existed, would materially assist the defence. The complaints sought were not privileged under s 170 of the Police Act, the subpoena was not too wide, and it was not a fishing expedition.

Court Disposition

Application to set aside the subpoena is dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Paragraph (h) of the subpoena is not set aside.' 'The redacted versions of the documents relating to each of the police officers named in the subpoena are to be made available for inspection by the defence.']