Regina v Mikel Fajloun; Regina v Raad Fajloun [2007] NSWDC 380

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Regina v Mikel Fajloun; Regina v Raad Fajloun [2007] NSWDC 380

JUDGMENT DATE: 16 November 2007

JURISDICTION: District Court of New South Wales

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ

DECISION: The application is rejected.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - application to discharge jury - evidence of previous violence unexpectedly emerging in cross-examination - test for discharge of a jury

LEGISLATION CITED: Evidence Act 1995 s 137

CASES CITED: Crofts v The Queen (1996) 186 CLR 437 Regina v Gilbert Adam (1999) 47 NSWLR 267

Regina Mikel Fajloun PARTIES: Raad Fajloun

NOTE - NON-PUBLICATION ORDER FOR NAME OF COMPLAINANT

FILE NUMBER(S): 06/21/247; 06/21/248

Ms Herbert for the Crown COUNSEL: Mr Watson for Mikel Fajloun Dr Webb for Raad Fajloun

JUDGMENT

1. Mr Watson for Mr Mikel Fajloun applied to discharge the jury. This application was made on 7 November 2007. The basis of the discharge was evidence given by KF.

2. The evidence was given on 7 November 2007 when she was being cross-examined by Mr Watson. There were two answers to two questions. The first appears at T 96:

"Q. Did you talk to him about your family situation? A. Yeah, yes I told him when Mikel hit me and I showed him the mark on my leg". The second question appears on the next page and is as follows: "Q Well you'd remember if you did because it's fairly serious, isn't it? A. I don't remember exactly what I told him but okay" (witness pointing to the lower leg on the left and saying) "when Mikel hit me on my leg, he noticed the bruise and he asked me and I told him that Mikel had hit me there". 3. It was not part of the prosecution case that there was, on the date of the offences charged against the two accused, any personal violence inflicted by Mr Mikel Fajloun on to KF.