R v RB; Attorney-General (NSW) as Intervenor (No 2) [2019] NSWDC 511

R v RB; Attorney-General (NSW) as Intervenor (No 2) [2019] NSWDC 511

The complainant's evidence and the complaint evidence were relevant, probative of facts in issue and admissible. Section 293 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 is a valid exclusionary rule reflecting Parliament's balance of competing public interests in sexual offence proceedings. The accused could not invoke ss 135 and 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 to defeat that statutory exclusion; the evidence was not misleading and its admission did not create unfair prejudice merely because s 293 prevented the accused from adducing the false complaint evidence.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
06 September 2019
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Notice of Motion Dated 6 August 2019 Seeking an Advance Ruling Under S 192 a of the Evidence Act 1995 That Complaint Evidence Be Ruled Inadmissible Under S 135 And/or S 137
Outcome
The Court declined to make the orders sought in the Notice of Motion dated 6 August 2019.
Legal Topics
['sexual Offence Proceedings' 'admissibility of Complaint Evidence' 'false Complaint Evidence' 'section 293 Exclusionary Rule' 'relevance and Probative Value' 'misleading Evidence' 'unfair Prejudice']
['criminal Procedure' 'evidence' 'criminal Law'] ['sexual Offence Proceedings' 'admissibility of Complaint Evidence' 'false Complaint Evidence' 'section 293 Exclusionary Rule' 'relevance and Probative Value' 'misleading Evidence' 'unfair Prejudice']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal / Notice of Motion Dated 6 August 2019 Seeking an Advance Ruling Under S 192 a of the Evidence Act 1995 That Complaint Evidence Be Ruled Inadmissible Under S 135 And/or S 137

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether evidence proposed to be adduced by the Crown from the complainant and complaint witnesses was inadmissible under s 135(b) of the Evidence Act 1995 because it might be misleading.' 'Whether the probative value of the Crown complaint evidence was outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the accused under s 137 of the Evidence Act 1995.' 'Whether the accused could rely on ss 135 and 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 to overcome the effect of s 293 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986.']

Ratio Decidendi

The complainant's evidence and the complaint evidence were relevant, probative of facts in issue and admissible. Section 293 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 is a valid exclusionary rule reflecting Parliament's balance of competing public interests in sexual offence proceedings. The accused could not invoke ss 135 and 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 to defeat that statutory exclusion; the evidence was not misleading and its admission did not create unfair prejudice merely because s 293 prevented the accused from adducing the false complaint evidence.

Court Disposition

The Court declined to make the orders sought in the Notice of Motion dated 6 August 2019.

Orders

  • ['I decline to make the orders sought in the Notice of Motion dated 6 August 2019.']