R v Afu; R v Caleo (No 15) [2018] NSWSC 245

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Afu; R v Caleo (No 15) [2018] NSWSC 245 Hearing dates: 27 February 2018 Decision date: 05 March 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: R A Hulme J Decision: Evidence inadmissible Catchwords: EVIDENCE – discretions – exclusions of evidence – exception to hearsay rule – where maker unavailable – where witness gave evidence of various conversations with victim up to six months prior to statement being made – where representation made by intimate friend of deceased victim – whether representations were made shortly after asserted fact occurred – shortly after must mean period that is relatively minimal – evidence excluded

EVIDENCE – discretions – exclusions of evidence – exception to hearsay rule – where maker unavailable – where witness gave evidence of various conversations with victim at least six months prior to statement being made – where statement made at Australian High Commission by close friend of victim – where no evidence as to manner in which statement taken – whether representations were made in circumstances that make it highly probable that the representation is reliable – circumstances in which statement was made is issue not general reliability – evidence excluded Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) ss 59, 62, 65 Cases Cited: Sio v The Queen (2016) 259 CLR 47; [2016] HCA 32 Texts Cited: Odgers, Uniform Evidence Law (12th ed, 2016, Lawbook Co) Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Regina Alani Afu Mark Richard Caleo Representation: Counsel: Ms M Cunneen SC (Crown) Mr R Wilson (Afu) Mr G Brady SC with Ms R Khalilizadeh (Caleo)