R v Al Batat & Ors (No 19) [2020] NSWSC 1297

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Al Batat & Ors (No 19) [2020] NSWSC 1297 Hearing dates: 21 September 2020 Date of orders: 22 September 2020 Decision date: 24 September 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: HAMILL J Decision: The evidence of Mr Bayliss's false denials of his possession of methylamphetamine are inadmissible. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - evidence - credibility evidence - evidence of false denial of possession of drug - where accused denied gun supply in the same interview - whether leave required - where accused admits possession of drug - whether prior inconsistent statement - whether evidence could substantially affect assessment of credibility - probative value of evidence - danger of unfair prejudice - brazen lies - caught red handed - jury leaping to conclusion of guilt - evidence receiving undue weight - jury losing focus on evidence tendered to prove guilt - possible directions - axiom that juries obey directions not holy writ - evidence excluded Legislation Cited: Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), ss 25, 29 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 101A, 108A, 108B, 137 Cases Cited: Azzi v R [2013] NSWCCA 249 Gilbert v The Queen (2000) 201 CLR 414; [2000] HCA 15 R v Adams (No 2) [2016] NSWSC 1359 R v Al Batat & Ors (No 1) [2020] NSWSC 967 R v Al Batat & Ors (No 3) [2020] NSWSC 1061 R v Al Batat & Ors (No 12) [2020] NSWSC 1129 R v Simmons; R v Moore (No 4) [2015] NSWSC 259 Texts Cited: Stephen Odgers, "Uniform Evidence Law" (15th Edition, Lawbook Co, 2020) Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Regina Abdallah Hassan Al Batat Ying Cheng Luo Ian Fan Jaiyu Liu Jacob Blake Bayliss Nai An Li Representation: Counsel: P Hogan (Crown) B Rigg SC (Al Batat) R Webb (Luo) T Quilter (Fan) N Carroll (Liu) A Norrie (Bayliss) D Carroll (Li)