Citation: R (Commonwealth) v Mark William Standen [2011] NSWSC 1044
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 26 May 2011
Judge(s): James J
Background
The accused was a law enforcement officer facing charges arising from an alleged corrupt relationship with a criminal informer named Kinch. The prosecution alleged that during the period covered by the indictment, the accused had engaged in a conspiracy involving the trafficking and importation of illicit drugs.
A central evidentiary dispute arose over documents produced by the New South Wales Crime Commission. The defence contested the admissibility of these documents, and James J issued this short supplementary judgment to accompany rulings already recorded in the trial transcript.
Legal Issues
- Whether the disputed Crime Commission documents were relevant and of sufficient probative value to be admitted into evidence
- Whether admitting any of the documents would cause unfair prejudice to the accused, give rise to collateral issues, create procedural unfairness, or produce a risk that their weight would be distorted by the absence of other Commission records that had not been retrieved
Decision
Issue 1: Relevance and probative value of the documents
James J found that all disputed documents ruled admissible carried substantial probative force. The documents were capable of establishing several interconnected matters: Kinch's history of serious drug criminality and the accused's knowledge of that history; the frequency of contact between the two men during 2003 and 2004; and the way in which their relationship had developed well beyond a standard handler-informer dynamic.
The documents also tended to show that the accused had made representations on Kinch's behalf that overstated matters in Kinch's favour. Taken together, they were capable of demonstrating the beginnings of an improper relationship, which in turn made it more probable that a fully corrupt relationship existed during the period alleged in the indictment. Some documents were also capable of being linked to other events occurring during the alleged conspiracy, and of establishing that Kinch continued to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution after he left Australia in February 2004.
Issue 2: Prejudice, collateral issues, and weight
James J was not satisfied that any of the documents, if admitted, would cause unfair prejudice to the accused. Nor did he identify any risk that collateral issues would arise, that procedural unfairness would result, or that the absence of other Crime Commission records not yet retrieved would significantly affect the weight properly attributable to the documents.
Orders Made
- All disputed Crime Commission documents that were ruled admissible were found to be relevant and of substantial probative force and were admitted into evidence.
Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court confirmed that documents from the Crime Commission were admissible where they were capable of establishing a course of conduct consistent with an evolving corrupt relationship, even if that conduct preceded the period alleged in the indictment.
- Probative value was assessed by reference to the cumulative picture the documents could paint across several interconnected factual matters, including frequency of contact, favourable representations, and criminal history.
- A document need not independently establish a charged act to be admissible; it may be admitted if it can be linked to other conduct alleged in the indictment or renders a contested fact more probable.
- No unfair prejudice arose merely because some Crime Commission records had not been retrieved, where the court was satisfied that the absence of those records would not significantly distort the weight of the admitted documents.
- This ruling is a supplementary judgment only, and its full significance must be read alongside the transcript rulings at pages 2333 to 2336, which are not reproduced in this decision.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Not stated
Cases
- Not stated