The NSW government's latest attempt to have a man face trial on charges of murdering three Aboriginal children in Bowraville almost 30 years ago is to be heard in the High Court.
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Attorney-General Mark Speakman is seeking special leave to challenge a NSW Court of Criminal Appeal decision in September rejecting his application for the man to face a single trial charged with three murders.
Four-year-old Evelyn Greenup, Clinton Speedy-Duroux, 16, and Colleen Walker, 16, disappeared from the northern NSW town over a five-month period from September 1990.
The man, who can't be named for legal reasons, was acquitted of Clinton's murder in 1994 and of Evelyn's murder in 2006.
In the Appeal Court, the government unsuccessfully argued there was fresh and compelling evidence - relating to the disappearance of Colleen - to justify the overturning of the two acquittals and the ordering of a single trial on three murder charges.
Under NSW double-jeopardy laws revised in 2006, a person can be tried for the same crime for which they have already been acquitted provided there's fresh and compelling evidence.
The Attorney-General's application for special leave to appeal to the High Court will be heard on Friday in Sydney.
Australian Associated Press
