Consolidated Press Ltd v McRae [1955] HCA 11

Prothonotary, oll Water As Bie 2 cgi bad a sn a oe so Line Boy epi (ND dee Seat ian a Bik | oe

93 C.L.R.] OF AUSTRALIA. 325

(HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.]

CONSOLIDATED PRESS LIMITED a APPELLANTS 3

ANOTHER é ies 4 RESPONDENTS,

McRAE . 4 A 2 : § : RESPONDENT. APPLICANT,

ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

Contempt of court—Newspaper—Publication—Charges pending—Declaration by H.C. oF A.

aceused—Allegations of police violence—Statements by accused—Admissibility 1954-1955.

at trial—Onus of proof. ber4

Contempt of court is a criminal offence at common law, and, like all other gypyey, criminal offences, it must, whether it be made the subject of indictment or of 4ug, 26, 27;

summary proceedings before the Supreme Court, be proved strictly. — 1955,

; 3 Metnourne, paper company and its acting editor published a statutory declaration by a yyy, 1g

In the course of an article headed " Man alleges police violence " a news-

man against whom police had laid two charges of false pretences, one of

larceny and one of attempted bribery, in which he declared that he had been Rieti i. aa

violently assaulted by police officers at a police station with a view to obtaining Fullagar. confessional statements from him, falsely charged with offering a bribe to a Taylor JJ. police officer and promised that if he signed a statement then presented to him the bribery charge would be dropped. As a result, he declared, he had signed certain statements, one of which dealt with his treatment by the police and attributed certain injuries, which he then bore, to a fight before his arrest. 'The declaration contained no information as to the contents of the other statements. The text of a letter sent by the man's solicitor to the Commis- sioner of Police complaining of serious and repeated assaults on his client by police officers and seeking an inquiry was also published in the article, which, by way of introduction, stated that the documents published spoke for them- selves and that the newspaper took no sides beyond pointing out that the matters raised by the documents called for the most searching investigation.