Primary Examination for the Bachelor of Laws

Expert opinion must be based on admissible evidence. What is the survey conducted. Is it admissible?

PART B

All students must answer ALL FIVE (5) questions in Part B. Part B is worth SIXTY (60) marks. The marks associated with each question are indicated below.

D is charged with five counts of robbery, which are to be tried together before a jury in the District Court of South Australia.

Pre-Trial Applications

Prior to trial and the empanelment of the jury, the Defence applied for severance and separate trial of each count. The Crown case in respect of each count relied primarily on the statements of the complainants, summaries of which are as follows:

First Count

At approximately 11.30 pm on 9 August 2005, Terri Hatcher (TH) was drinking with a male and a female friend at a car-park in the South Parklands of Adelaide, near a sporting complex. TH and her female friend needed to go to the toilet, so the male friend drove them to a nearby service station. TH was quite drunk and unstable. She recalls getting out of the vehicle but does not remember going into the service station. Her next memory, after alighting from her friend’s vehicle, is that of being driven down the road by a man whom she had never before seen. She recalls the man saying, “I’ll cut you” if she did not give him her purse and jewellery. She complied with his demands. The man then drove her to a parknear her house. TH cannot recall what the man looked like, nor can she recall any details about the car except that it may have been white. TH was 23 at the time of the alleged incident.

Second Count

On 26 December 2007, Marcia Cross (MC) had recently arrived in Adelaide from the Riverland. She was walking along South Terrace at approximately 9.00 pm, headed towards Hindley Street to meet friends, when a man in a yellow car pulled up alongside her. The man beckoned her toward his vehicle. MC thought it was a taxi and approached. He offered to drive her to where she was to meet her friends. MC accepted. The man drove past Hindley Street. When MC questioned him, he centrally locked the vehicle doors and told her “Look at the ground!” He told her he “had a knife” but would not hurt her if she gave him her handbag. She complied. The man then drove her to a park and let her get out. MC recalls the man had dark, olive skin but cannot remember much else. MC was 20 at the time of the alleged incident.

Third Count

In the early hours of the morning on 18 April 2008, Eva Longoria (EL) was walking along Hindley Street attempting to hail a taxi to take her home. EL had consumed a number of drinks over the course of the evening and was a little unsteady on her feet. EL noticed a man in a yellow vehicle motion towards her. EL stopped and the driver, who identified himself as a taxi driver, asked her if she was looking for a taxi. She said she was and sat in the front passenger seat of the car and asked the driver to take her to Daw Park. He drove to a deserted area in the East Parklands of the city. EL says the man stopped the car there and locked the doors of the vehicle, using central locking. The man then pulled out a small silver knife and told EL he would “stab her” if she did not give him her watch, purse and necklace. EL did so. The man then pushed her out of the car and drove away. EL remembers the man had very dark skin and a thin black moustache but cannot remember much else. EL was 31 at the time of the alleged incident.

Fourth Count

At 2.00 am on 6 July 2008, Nicole Sheridan (NS) was walking along Torrens Road towards Port Adelaide, not far from the North Parklands, when a vehicle pulled alongside her. NS was quite drunk. The male driver offered her a lift, which she accepted. She asked the driver to take her to Croydon Park. NS then thinks she must have fallen asleep. The next thing she remembers is being threatened by a man holding a small knife in the Arndale shopping centre car-park. The man held the knife to her throat and snatched off her necklace as well as taking her handbag. The next thing she recalls is seeing a yellow car speed away, which she thinks is the same vehicle that picked her up on Torrens Road. NS was 25 at the time of the alleged incident.

Fifth Count

At around 2.30 am on 14 November 2008, Andrea Bowen (AB) was coming out of a nightclub on Hindley Street, intending to catch a taxi. She walked a little way before a yellow car pulled over. The driver asked if she needed a ride. He said he was a taxi driver. AB said she needed to go to Parkside and sat in the front passenger seat. The man then drove out of the city but did not follow her directions. When she questioned him, the man yelled at her to “Keep her face down” and “Don’t look at me”. The man then centrally locked the vehicle doors and drove to a secluded park near the Parkside area. He stopped the vehicle there and told AB that he would “hurt her” if she did not give him her handbag and jewellery. AB said she started screaming at which point the man struck her. He then produced a knife and cut her dress before saying that he would “really hurt her” if she didn’t do what he said. AB then gave him her possessions. The man then pushed her from the car and drove away. AB cannot remember things clearly but recalls the man had dark-olive skin, curly black hair and a moustache. AB was 33 at the time of the alleged incident.

The Crown case is that D, who is a registered taxi-driver, preyed upon these young women who were intoxicated, new to Adelaide or otherwise vulnerable so as to rob them. D has dark, olive skin and now, at the time of trial, has long curly black hair and a thick black moustache but no other remarkable facial hair.