6 Sept 2017
ALLEN v R [2017] NZCA 392
- Citation
- [2017] NZCA 392
- Court
- Court of Appeal
The trial judge did not err in refusing to discharge the jury. The inadvertent audio was inconsequential in context and unlikely to have led to a miscarriage; the judge was best placed to assess its impact. The jurors' observation of the van was addressed by immediate inquiry of the foreperson and clear, repeated, and tailored directions that the jury must decide only on evidence heard in court; those directions eliminated the real risk of prejudice given the circumstances and the strength and nature of the Crown's evidence. Continuance did not result in an unfair trial or an affected outcome…