A Northern Territory policeman accused of murdering an Indigenous man during an outback arrest will have to wait until 60 minutes before his trial to learn if it will proceed as planned.
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Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Kumanjayi Walker, 19, in November 2019.
The teenager was shot three times in the remote community of Yuendumu, about 290km northwest of Alice Springs.
Rolfe is scheduled to stand trial in the NT Supreme Court on Monday but it could be postponed after the Crown applied to the High Court for a stay order.
The prosecution wants to seek leave from the High Court to appeal a recent legal decision by a full bench of the NT Supreme Court related to Rolfe's defence.
Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC on Friday took the request to the High Court in Canberra, where Justice Jacqueline Gleeson reserved her decision on the stay until 9.30am (AEST) on Monday.
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The jury trial is scheduled to start in Darwin at 10am (ACST) on the same day and run for three weeks with about 50 witnesses and experts set to give evidence.
Whether it goes ahead will depend on High Court's decision an hour before the trial is due to start.Justice Gleeson also scheduled a hearing in the High Court on September 10 for Mr Strickland to seek leave to appeal the NT Supreme Court decision on Rolfe's defence.
Mr Strickland says the decision to allow Rolfe's legal team to use three separate defences before the jury, including the immunity clause in the NT Police Administration Act was wrong and not consistent with the reasonableness provisions of the criminal code.
The interpretation of the act is central to Rolfe's trial.
Mr Strickland said the High Court appeal had to be heard before the criminal trial started because the law did not permit the Crown to appeal the verdict if the jury acquitted Rolfe.
Rolfe is charged with murder and the alternative counts of manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death.
Australian Associated Press
