R v Warwick (No.24)

1. [1]

   The Crown seeks to tender the file of the Family Court of Australia, which is a record of the Family Court proceedings between the Accused and Ms Blanchard.

2. [2]

   The documents constituting that file were produced to this Court in the course of pre-trial hearings by virtue of a request made by the Principal Registrar of this Court to the Family Court of Australia at Parramatta.

3. [3]

   The Accused opposes the tender of the file at this stage and opposes it being marked as an exhibit before it is authenticated in evidence by the relevant officer of the Family Court of Australia. The Accused indicates that that may not be necessary after further consultation between his lawyer, Mr Conolly, and the Crown.

4. [4]

   It seems to me that the appropriate course where formal authentication remains in issue, but where the file is plainly relevant to the Crown case, is to admit the file under s 57 of the Evidence Act 1995 provisionally and mark it as Exhibit 1. It will be necessary to return, in due course, to finalise the question of whether it should be admitted finally. I will mark the Family Court of Australia file with respect to the proceedings between Ms Andrea Blanchard and the Accused as Exhibit 1.

Orders

1. [5]

   I make the following orders:

   1. (1)

      Admit Family Court of Australia file provisionally as Exh 1 in these proceedings. .