Hughes v The Queen (2017) 263 CLR 338
- casetreasury
- Aug 2, 2024
- 2 min read
Facts: Defendant (D) (Robert Hughes) had been a sitcom star in the 1980s; A number of his co-workers and others came forward claiming he sexually abused them. There were 5 complainants (C) & 6 further tendency witnesses (Ws). The trial judge (TJ) joined the charges relating to different Cs & evidence from other alleged Ws. D ultimately appealed to the HCA. He argued the evidence was inadmissible because there were many differences between the allegations of sexual misconduct (large age range, misconduct was varied, some allegations involved touching vs. exposure), and that the tendency was too broad so it lacked significant probative value (SPV).