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Court of Criminal Appeal 23 July 2002

R v MARTIN

[2002] NSWCCA 290

Assault & violence
CRIMINAL APPEAL APPEAL AGAINST CONVICTION WHETHER VERDICT WAS UNSAFE GREVIOUS BODILY HARM BLOOD DNA EVIDENCE EXPLANATION FOR PRESENCE OF BLOOD

Citation: R v Martin [2002] NSWCCA 290
Court: New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 23 July 2002
Judge(s): Sheller JA, Dowd J, Carruthers AJ

Background

The appellant, Peter Leslie Martin, was convicted by a jury in the District Court at Lismore on 28 September 2001 on two charges: maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Gary Edwards with intent, and maliciously wounding Eli Edwards with intent. Both charges arose from a coordinated attack on 3 July 1998, in which three balaclava-wearing men armed with a baseball bat and timber pieces entered the victims' property at Alstonville and beat them severely. Gary Edwards suffered serious injuries including multiple lacerations, fractures, and a pneumothorax. He later died from unrelated causes before the trial.

The Crown case rested on two main pillars. First, police identified the appellant's blood on the baseball bat used in the attack and on the inside of a shoe worn by co-assailant Colin Stevens. Second, the appellant's former business partner testified that the appellant had confessed to his involvement in the attacks.

The appellant denied all involvement. He argued that his blood had reached those items innocently, having accompanied Stevens to his farm during the afternoon of the attack day while a pre-existing finger wound bled. He also relied on an alibi corroborated by his wife, his uncontested good character, and the evidence of Stevens himself, who named two different men as his accomplices. The appellant applied for an extension of time to bring his appeal, which was out of time.

  • Whether the extension of time to appeal should be granted
  • Whether the jury's verdict was unsafe, in that a reasonable doubt as to the appellant's guilt should have been found
  • Whether the Crown's evidence, including the blood DNA evidence and the confession evidence, was sufficient to support the conviction in light of the appellant's alibi, innocent explanation for the blood, and good character

Decision

The Court granted the extension of time to appeal. On the substantive appeal, Sheller JA (with Dowd J and Carruthers AJ agreeing) dismissed the appeal on the ground that the verdict was not unsafe.

The Court applied the test from R v Markuleski (2001) 52 NSWLR 82, under which the question is whether, upon the whole of the evidence, it was open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the appellant's guilt. The Court held that this threshold was met. The jury had seen and heard all witnesses give their evidence, and was entitled to accept the Crown's case over the appellant's denials and innocent explanation.

The Court acknowledged several features of the case that the appellant raised as grounds for doubt. These included the former business partner's apparent animosity toward the appellant (which the trial judge on sentencing had noted raised a question about his reliability), the puzzling fact of why a man with no history of violence or dishonesty would have participated in such an attack, and the relatively short time the jury deliberated. The Court also noted a curious circumstance relied upon by the Crown: that shortly after the attack, Stevens's wife telephoned and spoke to the appellant at length about Stevens's arrest. Despite these competing considerations, the Court found that the appellant's grounds had not been made out, and that it remained open to the jury to convict.

Orders Made

  • Extension of time to appeal granted up to and including the date of the filing of the notice of appeal
  • Appeal dismissed

Key Takeaways

  • In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed that a challenge to a jury verdict on the ground of being "unsafe" requires more than demonstrating that the defence case was credible or that the Crown's evidence was contested. The test, drawn from R v Markuleski, is whether it was open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt on the whole of the evidence.
  • Where DNA evidence links an accused to instruments of an assault, an innocent explanation for the presence of that evidence is a matter for the jury to assess, particularly where the jury has seen and heard all witnesses.
  • Confession evidence from a witness with demonstrated animosity toward the accused does not automatically render a conviction unsafe. The weight and credibility of such evidence is a question for the jury at trial.
  • No error was established in the trial judge's summing up, and the appellant's counsel had not sought any redirection at trial, which weighed against a finding that the verdict was the product of a misdirection or unfairness.
  • A short jury deliberation period, standing alone, does not constitute a ground of appeal sufficient to establish that a verdict is unsafe.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW)

Cases:
- R v Markuleski (2001) 52 NSWLR 82