R v Simmons; R v Moore (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 189

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Simmons; R v Moore (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 189 Hearing dates: 3-5, 9-10 March 2015 Date of orders: 10 March 2015 Decision date: 10 March 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Hamill J Decision: (1) The evidence of recorded conversations between the accused and Jodi Biles on 1 September 2011 and 6 September 2011 is excluded. (2) The evidence of the unrecorded statements of the accused at the Bathurst police station on 18 January 2013 is excluded. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – unsolved missing persons investigation – suspected cold case murder – use of listening device – where device deployed in psychiatric hospital – accused recovering from acute psychosis – whether police failed to disclose relevant information in application for surveillance device warrant – discretion to exclude admissions that are unfair – whether witness an agent of the state – whether witness "elicited" admissions – where accused had not previously been interviewed or advised of his right to silence CRIMINAL LAW – admissions – whether admission induced by offer of "off the record" conversation – whether reliability adversely affected – fairness discretion Legislation Cited: Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) Cases Cited: Asim v Penrose & anor [2010] NSWCA 366 Briginshaw v Briginshaw [1938] HCA 34; 60 CLR 336 Em v R [2006] NSWCCA 336 Em v The Queen [2007] HCA 46; 232 CLR 67 Flanagan v Australian Federal Police [1996] FCA 16; 134 ALR 495 Fox v Percy [2003] HCA 22; 214 CLR 118 Neat Holding Pty Ltd v Karajan Holding Pty Ltd [1992] HCA 66; 67 ALJR 170 Ousley v The Queen [1997] HCA 49; 192 CLR 69 Pallier v Solomons (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1524 Pavitt v The Queen [2007] NSWCCA 88; 169 A Crim R 452 R v Chadd [2006] NZCA 449 R v Em [2003] NSWCCA 374 R v Esposito (1998) 105 A Crim R 27 R v Gallagher [2013] NSWSC 1102 R v Horton (1998) 104 A Crim R 306 R v Phan [2001] NSWCCA 29; 53 NSWLR 480 R v Plotzki (1972) QDR 379 R v Simmons; R v Moore (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143 R v Ye Zhang [2000] NSWSC 1099 The Queen v Noakes (1986) 42 SASR 489 Tofilau v The Queen [2007] HCA 39; 231 CLR 396 Walsh v The Queen [1996] TASSC 59 Texts Cited: Odger's Uniform Evidence Law (11th Edition) Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Crown Tony James Simmons (Accused) Kieran Moore (Accused) Representation: Counsel: P Barrett (Crown) P Young SC (Simmons) J Stratton SC (Moore)