Houshyar v R [2022] NSWCCA 245

Houshyar v R [2022] NSWCCA 245

It was open to the jury to reject the applicant's account as implausible in important respects and to accept the complainant's evidence as credible and reliable. The CCTV, medical evidence, DNA and semen evidence, and expert pharmacological evidence were consistent with and supported the Crown case, including that...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
09 December 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal Conviction Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Convictions; Appeal Against Convictions From the District Court of New South Wales
Outcome
Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.
Legal Topics
['unreasonable Verdict' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'causing a Person to Take an Intoxicating Substance With Intent to Commit an Indictable Offence' 'sexual Intercourse Without Consent' 'larceny' 'expert Pharmacological Evidence']
['criminal Law' 'criminal Appeals'] ['unreasonable Verdict' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'causing a Person to Take an Intoxicating Substance With Intent to Commit an Indictable Offence' 'sexual Intercourse Without Consent' 'larceny' 'expert Pharmacological Evidence']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Conviction Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Convictions; Appeal Against Convictions From the District Court of New South Wales

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the jury's verdicts were unreasonable or could not be supported having regard to the evidence." 'Whether the circumstantial Crown case excluded reasonable hypotheses consistent with innocence, including that the complainant was conscious but experiencing drug-induced memory loss and consented to sexual intercourse.' "Whether it was open to the jury to accept the complainant's evidence and reject the applicant's evidence."]

Ratio Decidendi

It was open to the jury to reject the applicant's account as implausible in important respects and to accept the complainant's evidence as credible and reliable. The CCTV, medical evidence, DNA and semen evidence, and expert pharmacological evidence were consistent with and supported the Crown case, including that the complainant took a significant dose of GHB, was unconscious for several hours, and did not knowingly take GHB at the apartment. The expert evidence did not leave open as a reasonable possibility the applicant's hypothesis that the complainant knowingly took GHB, remained conscious, consented to intercourse, and merely failed to form memories. The evidence also excluded...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Leave to appeal be granted;' 'The appeal be dismissed.']