Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Peter Slipper

 

Charge:

Fraud (Public funds)

Sentence:

300 hours community service & $954 repayment

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2010

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Australia

County or Region of Crime:

Australian Capital Territory

City of Crime:

Canberra

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Peter Slipper was wrongly convicted on July 28, 2014 of three counts of dishonestly causing a loss to the Australian Parliament. Slipper was a Member of the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament in 2010. The prosecution alleged that related to three trips to wineries -- in January 2010, April 2010, and June 2010 -- Slipper submitting charges when the trips were unrelated to his official duties. After his bench trial Slipper was sentenced to perform 300 hours community service and repay $954. Slipper appealed. On February 26, 2015 the Supreme Court of The Australian Capital Territory reversed Slipper's convictions and ordered his acquittal on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence at trial to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court's ruling statedin part: "The breadth of activity that may be encompassed by the term “parliamentary business” in the Determination means that the prosecution had to disprove the rational possibility that the appellant travelled to the various wineries, for example, for purposes of informing himself about those businesses as part of his function as a parliamentarian, based upon his judgment of the need for such travel for that purpose. The prosecution further had to exclude the possibility that the travel was for the purpose of meeting a third party, in circumstances where there was no evidence of who the appellant may have communicated with prior to, or during, the journeys. The prosecution also had to exclude the possibility that the appellant had determined to conduct meetings about parliamentary business with his staff member at a location other than Parliament House for reasons which he considered adequate. Other potential scenarios may no doubt be posited. The fact is that the prosecution could not exclude these rational inferences, and as such the guilt of the appellant was not the only rational inference available on the evidence. It follows that it was not open to the Magistrate, viewing the evidence as a whole, to convict. The appeals will be upheld and the convictions and penalties imposed by the Magistrate will be set aside. Verdicts of not guilty will be substituted with respect to each charge." Slipper v. Turner, [2015] ACTSC 27"

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On February 26, 2015 the Supreme Court of The Australian Capital Territory reversed Slipper's convictions and ordered his acquittal on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence at trial to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Slipper v. Turner, [2015] ACTSC 27 (Supreme Court of The Australian Capital Territory, 2-26-2015) (Reversing convictions on the basis of insufficient evidence.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.courts.act.gov.au/supreme/judgment/view/8687/source/rss

Information Source 2:

"Peter Slipper conviction overturned by Canberra court, By Michael Inman (Courts reporter), The Canberra Times, February 26, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/peter-slipper-conviction-overturned-by-canberra-court-20150226-13p7b1.html

Information Source 3:

"Peter Slipper found guilty of acting dishonestly over taxpayer-funded winery tour, By Megan Gorrey (Reporter), The Canberra Times, July 28, 2014"

Information Location 3:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/peter-slipper-found-guilty-of-acting-dishonestly-over-taxpayerfunded-winery-tour-20140728-zxhbm.html

Information Source 4:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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