Peniamina v The Queen

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIABELL, GAGELER, KEANE, GORDON AND EDELMAN JJARONA PENIAMINA  APPELLANTANDTHE QUEEN  RESPONDENTPeniamina v The Queen[2020] HCA 47Date of Hearing: 15 October 2020Date of Judgment: 9 December 2020B32/2020ORDER1.Appeal allowed.2.Set aside the order of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland made on 29 November 2019 and, in lieu thereof, order that the appeal to that Court be allowed and the appellant's conviction be set aside and a new trial be had.On appeal from the Supreme Court of QueenslandRepresentationM J Copley QC with K Prskalo for the appellant (instructed by Legal Aid Queensland)T A Fuller QC with D Balic for the respondent (instructed by Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Qld))Notice:  This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.CATCHWORDSPeniamina v The QueenCriminal law – Defences – Provocation – Where appellant killed his wife in circumstances that left it open to find he was angered by belief she had been unfaithful and planned to leave him – Where appellant pleaded not guilty to murder on basis that killing resulted from loss of self-control caused by provocation by deceased – Where appellant contended at trial that state of loss of self-control excited by deceased's conduct in grabbing knife, threatening him with it and cutting his right palm – Where s 304(3) of Criminal Code (Qld) excluded defence of provocation (save in circumstances of most extreme and exceptional character) in case of unlawful killing of accused's...