High Court quashes king-hit conviction

An alleged king-hit killer will have his manslaughter conviction quashed and go to a retrial after the High Court unanimously allowed his appeal.

In 2012, Paul Ian Lane was caught on CCTV footage in a brawl with 52-year-old Peter Morris who fell, struck his head and died nine days later.

The Lennox Head man was reportedly thrown out of a Casino hotel before he assaulted Mr Morris and 38-year-old Christopher Schwager.

Mr Lane appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal on the grounds his trial judge erred, but it was struck down.

Following the decision, Mr Lane appealed to the top tier of Australia's justice system.

The High Court unanimously accepted that the Court of Criminal Appeal had made an error in rejecting the original appeal.

On Wednesday, the Court quashed Mr Lane's conviction for manslaughter and ordered a new trial be held.