R v O’Keefe [2021] NSWSC 6

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v O'Keefe [2021] NSWSC 6 Hearing dates: 11 January 2021 Date of orders: 12 January 2021 Decision date: 15 January 2021 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Davies J Decision: 1. The accused Sean David O'Keefe may adduce evidence of the conduct of the deceased referable to the alleged tendency of the deceased (a) to behave violently, including with the use of a knife and when under the influence of drugs; and (b) to act irrationally, including when under the influence of drugs, as described in paragraphs (i) to (iv), (vii) to (xiv) of the Tendency Notice dated 29 October 2020. 2. The first portion of evidence objected to on page 105 of the Master Audio/Visual Chronology is rejected. Catchwords: EVIDENCE – tendency evidence – criminal proceedings – murder – self-defence - tendency evidence concerning the deceased – evidence that deceased acted violently when under the influence of drugs – whether of significant probative value – whether link needs to be shown between facts concerning the defence and the prior behaviour of deceased – whether probative value outweighed by unfair prejudice Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) ss 97, 101, 135 Cases Cited: DSJ v R; NS v R [2012] NSWCCA 9 Hughes v The Queen (2017) 263 CLR 338; [2017] HCA 20 IMM v The Queen (2016) 257 CLR 300; [2016] HCA 14 McPhillamy v The Queen [2018] HCA 52; (2018) 92 ALJR 1045 R v Bryce (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 498 R v Ford [2009] NSWCCA 306; (2009) 273 ALR 286 The Queen v Dennis Bauer (a pseudonym) (2018) 266 CLR 56; [2018] HCA 40 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Crown Sean David O'Keefe (Accused) Representation: Counsel: C Taylor (Crown) R Pontello SC (Accused)