Trial by Motive
This article examines the implications of the High Court ruling in The Queen v Baden-Clay(‘Baden-Clay’)1 for future murder accused with strong motives for killing their spouses who deny all knowledge of their deaths. The article argues that apart from underlining t...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bond University
2017-01-01
|
| Series: | Bond Law Review |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5652 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849731439412641792 |
|---|---|
| author | David Field |
| author_facet | David Field |
| author_sort | David Field |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the implications of the High Court ruling in The Queen v Baden-Clay(‘Baden-Clay’)1 for future murder accused with strong motives for killing their spouses who deny all knowledge of their deaths. The article argues that apart from underlining the risk run by any criminal accused who opts to remain silent at their trial, the reasoning of the Court has left open the possibility that a conviction of murder could become a ‘default’ verdict under Queensland law in the absence of clear evidence of manslaughter, once the act of homicide has been proved. It has also provided a ‘pro-Crown’ precedent for future cases in which a conviction may be obtained by means of items of purely circumstantial evidence, not all of which are established beyond reasonable doubt. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7b759e7defea4e669aa850f6406f94af |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1033-4505 2202-4824 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Bond University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bond Law Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-7b759e7defea4e669aa850f6406f94af2025-08-20T03:08:32ZengBond UniversityBond Law Review1033-45052202-48242017-01-0129210.53300/001c.5652Trial by MotiveDavid FieldThis article examines the implications of the High Court ruling in The Queen v Baden-Clay(‘Baden-Clay’)1 for future murder accused with strong motives for killing their spouses who deny all knowledge of their deaths. The article argues that apart from underlining the risk run by any criminal accused who opts to remain silent at their trial, the reasoning of the Court has left open the possibility that a conviction of murder could become a ‘default’ verdict under Queensland law in the absence of clear evidence of manslaughter, once the act of homicide has been proved. It has also provided a ‘pro-Crown’ precedent for future cases in which a conviction may be obtained by means of items of purely circumstantial evidence, not all of which are established beyond reasonable doubt.https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5652 |
| spellingShingle | David Field Trial by Motive Bond Law Review |
| title | Trial by Motive |
| title_full | Trial by Motive |
| title_fullStr | Trial by Motive |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trial by Motive |
| title_short | Trial by Motive |
| title_sort | trial by motive |
| url | https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5652 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidfield trialbymotive |