R v Niguidula (No 4) [2023] NSWSC 486

R v Niguidula (No 4) [2023] NSWSC 486

The admissibility of each translated passage turned on whether it was relevant to facts in issue, including the accused's relationships, motivations, emotional state, and events preceding the deceased's death, and whether any probative value was outweighed by unfair prejudice. Product 4 and part of Product 609 were admissible because they were relevant and no further exclusionary basis was made out. The challenged Product 81 passages, part of Product 609, the remainder of Product 657, and Product 659 were excluded where their probative value was low or slight and was outweighed by risks of unfair prejudice, including portraying the accused poorly, ambiguity in translated language,...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
09 May 2023
Procedural Posture
Criminal Proceedings / Pre Trial Voir Dire and Procedural Ruling on Objections to Translated Telephone Intercept Evidence
Outcome
Objections upheld in part and overruled in part; specified parts of the translated telephone intercept evidence rejected.
Legal Topics
['telephone Intercept Recordings' 'translated Conversations' 'admissions' 'relevance' 'unfair Prejudice' 'voir Dire']
['criminal Law' 'evidence'] ['telephone Intercept Recordings' 'translated Conversations' 'admissions' 'relevance' 'unfair Prejudice' 'voir Dire']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Proceedings / Pre Trial Voir Dire and Procedural Ruling on Objections to Translated Telephone Intercept Evidence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether portions of English translations of Tagalog telephone conversations involving the accused were relevant and admissible.' 'Whether the probative value of particular translated passages was outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice under s 137 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The admissibility of each translated passage turned on whether it was relevant to facts in issue, including the accused's relationships, motivations, emotional state, and events preceding the deceased's death, and whether any probative value was outweighed by unfair prejudice. Product 4 and part of Product 609 were admissible because they were relevant and no further exclusionary basis was made out. The challenged Product 81 passages, part of Product 609, the remainder of Product 657, and Product 659 were excluded where their probative value was low or slight and was outweighed by risks of unfair prejudice, including portraying the accused poorly, ambiguity in translated language,...

Court Disposition

Objections upheld in part and overruled in part; specified parts of the translated telephone intercept evidence rejected.

Orders

  • ["Product 4: the accused's objection to the portion of this translation at Exhibit VD-C, p 21, is overruled." "Product 81: the accused's objection to portions of this translation at Exhibit VD-C, pp 87 and 92, as set out in my reasons above, is upheld. I reject those portions." "Product 609: the accused's objection...