R v Pitts (No 1) [2012] NSWSC 1652

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Pitts (No 1) [2012] NSWSC 1652 Hearing dates: 15 October 2012 Decision date: 15 October 2012 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Adamson J Decision: Reject the Initial Interview and the ERISP. Catchwords: EVIDENCE - statement of an accused - accused cautioned by police - caution expressed to be subject to unstated conditions, failure to comply with which may result in the commission of an offence - whether statement properly obtained for the purposes of the Evidence Act s 139 - whether to exclude evidence pursuant to the Evidence Act s 138

EVIDENCE - statement of an accused - privilege against self incrimination - accused indicated that he did not want to answer questions - persistent questioning by police - accused made admissions - whether to exclude evidence of admissions

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - power of police pursuant to the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act s 11 and 12 to request a person's identity - whether privilege against self-incrimination a "reasonable excuse" for the purposes of s 12 Legislation Cited: - Evidence Act 1995 - Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 Cases Cited: - DPP v Horwood [2009] NSWSC 1447 - R v Plevac (1995) 85 A Crim R 570 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Regina Craig Charles Pitts Representation: Counsel: S Herbert (Crown) D Marr (Accused) Solicitors: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) Richard Cummins Solicitor (Accused) File Number(s): 2011/249365 Publication restriction: None