Keir v R [2007] NSWCCA 149

Keir v R [2007] NSWCCA 149

The appeal was dismissed because, after independent assessment of the evidence, the Court held that the trial judge's findings were open, reasonable and supported by the evidence. The trial judge did not err in rejecting alleged post-disappearance sightings, the Person Located Report, DNA contamination arguments, or excavation and concrete slab arguments. The DNA likelihood evidence was used with other circumstantial evidence without committing the prosecutor's fallacy. The circumstantial case, including the discovery of human bones at the matrimonial home and DNA evidence linking them to a child of Jean Keir's parents, supported the only reasonable inference that Jean Keir was dead and...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
06 June 2007
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal Against Conviction for Murder / Appeal to the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal From a Judge Alone Conviction in the Supreme Court
Outcome
Appeal against conviction dismissed.
Legal Topics
['appeal Against Conviction' 'judge Alone Criminal Trial' 'murder' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'dna Evidence' "prosecutor's Fallacy" 'unreasonable Verdict' 'miscarriage of Justice']
['criminal Law' 'criminal Procedure' 'evidence'] ['appeal Against Conviction' 'judge Alone Criminal Trial' 'murder' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'dna Evidence' "prosecutor's Fallacy" 'unreasonable Verdict' 'miscarriage of Justice']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal Against Conviction for Murder / Appeal to the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal From a Judge Alone Conviction in the Supreme Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the verdict of guilty of murder was unreasonable or could not be supported having regard to the evidence.' 'Whether the trial judge erred in rejecting evidence said to show that Jean Keir was alive after 10 February 1988, including the Person Located Report and alleged sightings.' 'Whether the trial judge erred in accepting DNA evidence from the United States testing and rejecting arguments about degradation or contamination.' "Whether the trial judge fell into the prosecutor's fallacy in reasoning from DNA likelihood evidence to identity." 'Whether it was open to find beyond reasonable doubt that Jean Keir was dead, that her death was caused by an act of the appellant, and that the appellant intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.' 'Whether alleged errors concerning excavation photographs and a concrete slab gave rise to a miscarriage of justice.']

Ratio Decidendi

The appeal was dismissed because, after independent assessment of the evidence, the Court held that the trial judge's findings were open, reasonable and supported by the evidence. The trial judge did not err in rejecting alleged post-disappearance sightings, the Person Located Report, DNA contamination arguments, or excavation and concrete slab arguments. The DNA likelihood evidence was used with other circumstantial evidence without committing the prosecutor's fallacy. The circumstantial case, including the discovery of human bones at the matrimonial home and DNA evidence linking them to a child of Jean Keir's parents, supported the only reasonable inference that Jean Keir was dead and...

Court Disposition

Appeal against conviction dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Appeal against conviction dismissed.']