Lynette Cecil v Attorney General of New South Wales & Anor [2012] NSWSC 1186

Lynette Cecil v Attorney General of New South Wales & Anor [2012] NSWSC 1186

The new expert evidence, together with the evidence before the coroner, left a real possibility that the finding that Adam Cecil accessed and jumped from the roof and thereby took his own life was erroneous. The evidence raised significant questions about how he could have accessed the roof, whether he could have traversed the corrugated fibro roof given his intoxication, and whether his injuries were consistent with a fall onto bitumen from that height. Those matters made a further inquiry necessary or desirable in the interests of justice.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 October 2012
Procedural Posture
Application Under S 85 of the Coroner's Act 2009 to Quash Coronial Findings and Order a New Inquest / Principal Judgment After Hearing
Outcome
Findings of coroner quashed; new inquest ordered.
Legal Topics
['quashing Findings at Inquest' 'new Inquest' 'insufficiency of Enquiry' 'new Evidence' 'manner and Cause of Death' 'suicide Finding']
['coronial Law'] ['quashing Findings at Inquest' 'new Inquest' 'insufficiency of Enquiry' 'new Evidence' 'manner and Cause of Death' 'suicide Finding']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application Under S 85 of the Coroner's Act 2009 to Quash Coronial Findings and Order a New Inquest / Principal Judgment After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the findings of the coroner that Adam Cecil took his own life by jumping from the roof should be quashed.' 'Whether a new inquest was necessary or desirable in the interests of justice because of insufficiency of enquiry or discovery of new evidence or facts.' "Whether the new expert evidence created a real possibility that the coroner's finding as to the manner and cause of death was erroneous."]

Ratio Decidendi

The new expert evidence, together with the evidence before the coroner, left a real possibility that the finding that Adam Cecil accessed and jumped from the roof and thereby took his own life was erroneous. The evidence raised significant questions about how he could have accessed the roof, whether he could have traversed the corrugated fibro roof given his intoxication, and whether his injuries were consistent with a fall onto bitumen from that height. Those matters made a further inquiry necessary or desirable in the interests of justice.

Court Disposition

Findings of coroner quashed; new inquest ordered.

Orders

  • ['The findings of the coroner are quashed.' 'A new inquest be held into the death of Adam Cecil.']