The applicant, convicted of murder and assault in the death of his infant son, brought an application seeking production of Crown materials regarding the competency and objectivity of the Crown's paediatric pathology expert, Dr. Smith, in other criminal cases.
The applicant intended to use this material to adduce fresh evidence on his pending appeal.
The Court of Appeal held that while the Crown's disclosure obligations continue post-conviction, the applicant must demonstrate a reasonable possibility that the requested material could assist in the appeal and be received as fresh evidence.
The application was dismissed because the applicant offered no evidence to doubt the specific medical opinions given by the expert in this case, meaning evidence of the expert's conduct in other cases could not reasonably be expected to affect the verdict.
