Vickers v R [2006] NSWCCA 60

Reported Decision : 160 A Crim R 195

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION: Vickers v R [2006] NSWCCA 60

HEARING DATE(S): 23 February 2006

JUDGMENT DATE: 31 March 2006

JUDGMENT OF: James J at 1; Simpson J at 20; Hall J at 117

DECISION: Appeal against conviction dismissed.

CATCHWORDS: appeal against conviction - maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm - assault occasioning actual bodily harm - admission of evidence over objection - statement tendered at trial pursuant to s65(2)(b) and (c) of Evidence Act 1995 - maker of statement unavailable to give evidence - objection taken on grounds of late notice and discretionary factors - no separate objection to content of evidence - whole of statement admitted - whether trial judge erred in admitting statement - - whether trial judge failed adequately to warn jury of the danger of relying on the evidence of the statement - directions to jury adequate to draw attention to any potential unreliability of statement, including those parts now held to have been inadmissible - hearsay provisions of the Evidence Act - exceptions to the hearsay rule - identification of previous representation - identification of what fact was intended to be asserted by previous representation - relevant evidence - evidence of out of court representation by one person cannot be given by out of court representation of another person - evidence of previous representations inadmissible - effect of admission of inadmissible evidence of previous representation - Criminal Appeal Rules, rule 4 - whether appellant requires leave before being permitted to argue admissibility of previous representations as a ground of appeal - Criminal Procedure Act s68, s289 - appellant waived right to committal hearing - proviso to s6 of the Criminal Appeal Act - admission of the inadmissible evidence would and should have had no significance in verdict - evidence properly admitted proves beyond reasonable doubt guilt of the offence