R v JG [2009] NSWSC 1053

Reported Decision : 199 A Crim R 299

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : R v JG [2009] NSWSC 1053

HEARING DATE(S) : 11/08/2009, 12/08/2009, 13/08/2009. 14/08/2009, 17/08/2009, 18/08/2009, 19/08/2009, 20/08/2009, 24/08/2009, 25/08/2009, 27/08/2009, 31/08/2009, 01/09/2009, 03/09/2009, 04/09/2009, 07/09/2009, 08/09/2009

JUDGMENT DATE : 7 October 2009

JUDGMENT OF : Buddin J

DECISION : Evidence of witness CV excluded.

CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - accused charged by ex-officio indictment with murder of his wife - wife missing for a number of years and presumed dead - objection to admissibility of evidence Crown seeks to adduce from accused's 9 year old daughter, CV - evidence relates to her recollection of events of evening prior to her mother going missing - evidence in form of three interviews recorded with witness who is a "vulnerable person" by police - Crown seeks to adduce evidence in support of its case that the accused had a motive to kill his wife - witness subsequently subjected to two sessions of hypnosis at instigation of NSW Crime Commission - the existence of those sessions not disclosed to the parties until a subpoena issued to police just before trial - whether contents of first interview contaminated by introduction of extraneous material and the impact thereof upon subsequent interviews - whether appropriate procedures followed in relation to the decision to conduct hypnosis sessions for forensic purposes upon a young child and the manner in which the sessions themselves were conducted - expert evidence given by forensic psychiatrists - examination of authorities dealing with a witness subjected to hypnosis - whether the "original recollection" of the witness was preserved - whether highly unusual combination of circumstances warranted exclusion of evidence - consideration given to whether, in any event, evidence should be excluded pursuant to s 137 of the Evidence Act