R v Hickson (No. 3) [2019] NSWSC 1650

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Hickson (No. 3) [2019] NSWSC 1650 Hearing dates: 25 November 2019 Date of orders: 25 November 2019 Decision date: 28 November 2019 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Davies J Decision: Crown's applications refused as per paragraphs [14] and [34] of the judgment Catchwords: EVIDENCE – credibility evidence – hearsay evidence - criminal proceedings – admissibility of credibility evidence in a murder trial – where the Crown sought to lead second-hand hearsay evidence of an admission allegedly made by the accused – where the sole purpose of that evidence was to bolster the credibility of the witness to the alleged admission – s 102 Evidence Act – no applicable exception to the credibility rule – representation not fresh in the mind of the person making representation - evidence inadmissible

EVIDENCE – expert evidence – criminal proceedings – admissibility of expert evidence in a murder trial – where the Crown sought to lead evidence from an expert in mark evidence and comparison – where the expert had furnished a report comparing footprints in blood at the scene of the murder and sole impressions of a number of Trax brand shoes – where evidence adduced at trial suggested that the accused wore a different brand of shoes – where the findings of the report were, at best, equivocal – s 137 Evidence Act – risk of prejudice outweighed probative value of the evidence – evidence inadmissible Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) ss 62, 66, 101A, 102, 108, 137 Cases Cited: Graham v The Queen (1998) 195 CLR 606; [1998] HCA 61 Texts Cited: Nil Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Crown Terry John Hickson (Accused) Representation: Counsel: C Everson (Crown) P D Young SC (Accused)