R v Thomas

For the Indian politician, see R. V. Thomas. For the Wyoming attorney, see Richard V. Thomas.

R v Thomas
CourtCourt of Appeal of Victoria
Full case name The Queen v Joseph Terrence Thomas
Decided18 August 2006
Citation[2006] VSCA 166
Case history
Prior actionDPP v Thomas [2006] VSC 120 (trial)
Subsequent actionsR v Thomas (No 2) [2006] VSCA 166 (adjournment of further proceedings); R v Thomas (No 3) [2006] VSCA 300 (order for retrial)
Court membership
Judges sittingMaxwell P, Buchanan & Vincent JJA
Case opinions
  • the admissions made in the 8 March 2003 interview were not made voluntarily, and were not admissible as evidence (per curiam)
  • alternatively, "it would be contrary to public policy for this Court to condone what was a knowing non-compliance with the legal protection afforded by Australian law" (per curiam)

R v Thomas was an Australian court case decided in the Victorian Court of Appeal on 18 August 2006. It concerned the conviction in February 2006 of Joseph Thomas (nicknamed "Jihad Jack" in the media) on terrorism-related charges, specifically receiving funds from Al Qaeda. The appeal revolved around the admissibility of a confession Thomas made during an interrogation in Pakistan in 2003. The court found that the evidence, which was crucial to Thomas' convictions, was inadmissible because it had not been given voluntarily. The court accordingly quashed his convictions, but after further hearings ordered on 20 December 2006 that he be retried rather than acquitted.