Second Appeal Ground for Mowday versus The State of Western Australia case

Overview

The original verdict reached in the Mowday versus The State of Western Australia case was disputed and appealed against by the defendant's council.

Materials

Mowday versus The State of Western Australia case.
Transcript video
Transcript audio
Transcript PDF
250-word summary (produced in advance by learner).
Summary position adopted from first ground (output from prior activity).

Task 0: Form into Pairs

Learners are to form pairs and exchange summaries as well as summary positions adopted from consideration of the first appeal ground.

Task 1: Appealant possessed the images located.

Learners should consider the SECOND APPEAL GROUND for the case in question. The second appeal ground is:

Ground 2: The evidence of the State taken at its highest was not capable of establishing beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused. MOWDAY -v- THE STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The expectation is that pairs should:

Spend no more than 20 minutes considering the grounds of the appeal by considering and discussing the case, each other's 250-word summary from consideration of the first appeal ground.
Spend no more than 10 minutes to formulate a position whether the appeal should be granted and the rationale for the adopted position.
Generate a verdict with supporting summary of no more than 100 words that confirms the adopted position and rationale.

Pairs in considering the appeal should consider the following specific factors raised when considering their judgement:

Quality of Evidence. If any evidence was presented that established that the 27 images located and identified by authorities in January 2005 where in possession of the individuals in March 2004.
Accidental insertion of images. The Computer Crime Section is assumed to consider many digital artefacts associated with child exploitation as part of their work. There is the possibility that this resulted in accidental copying of the images onto the disks in question.