Court hears Rayney name tag was 'smoking gun' If an appeal against the murder acquittal of prominent Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney is successful, the appellants want a new trial, not a substituted verdict Lloyd Rayney arrives at the Supreme Court, with daughter Sarah and his lawyer for the State's appeal against his acquittal on a charge of murdering estranged wife Corryn Rayney. Former barrister Lloyd Rayney arrives at the Supreme Court for the State's appeal against his acquittal on a charge of murdering estranged wife Corryn Rayney. A BARRISTER representing Lloyd Rayney in the appeal against his murder acquittal says the case should be thrown out because the state has no "prospect of succeeding." Top Sydney silk, Bret Walker SC, told the WA Supreme Court that his team would "obtain success" and that the "appropriate outcome" for the hearing should be a refusal of leave. Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney disappeared on August 7, 2007 after her weekly bootscooting class. She was found buried head-first in a bush grave at Kings Park nine days later, with her car dumped nearby. Mr Rayney, her estranged husband and prominent Perth barrister, was cleared of her murder in November last year following a high-profile three-month trial. Today Mr Walker disputed the state's contention that it was wrong of trial judge Justice Martin to not take into account the significance of a dinner place card bearing Mr Rayney's name found in Kings Park near Ms Rayney's body. He pointed out that Justice Martin had stated in his 369-page judgement that "apart from the place card" the state case was at best "neutral." "We would say he did give full weight," Mr Walker said. It cannot be said that he has not considered the place card at all. Mr Walker then argued that the appeal judges would have to rule in the defence team's favour if they were not convinced any "material errors" had been made in the original trial and if they did not believe any miscarriage of justice had taken place. Name card was smoking gun Earlier, lawyers representing the state claimed the judge who cleared the Perth barrister of murder "adopted the wrong approach" in the case. David Jackson AM QC told the hearing that Justice Martin failed to give enough weight to all of the evidence presented in the trial and described the discovery of Mr Rayney's dinner place card near the burial site in Kings Park as a "smoking gun." He said while Justice Martin had found the discovery of the card did not prove guilt, Mr Jackson argued it should have been considered in the context of other evidence. "You would equate the card to something like a smoking gun," Justice Mark Weinberg asked. You would say its as powerful as that? Mr Jackson replied: "Yes, it is." Earlier he had told the hearing that Justice Martin had also failed to take into account the "internal conflict" between Mr and Mrs Rayney. During the murder trial it was revealed Mrs Rayney was seeking a divorce and the couple were sleeping in separate bedrooms. This morning, Mr Jackson also argued the fact Mr Rayney had allegedly secretly recorded his estranged wife and then allegedly destroyed the tapes demonstrated he knew he had committed an offence. He said Mr Rayney was barrister who for much of his professional career was a prosecutor and who would have known that he could not have engaged in phone tapping "without prejudice." He argued the fact he allegedly destroyed the tapes suggested his guilt but he was also forced to accept, after it was raised by the appeal judges today, that Mr Rayney could have allegedly destroyed the evidence because he knew he he should not have secretly recorded her. The appeal is being presided over by Victorian Court of Appeal judge Justice Mark Weinberg and two retired judges from New South Wales, Justices Anthony Whealy and Terrence Ruddin. Mr Rayney arrived at the WA Supreme Court this morning with his daughter Sarah and his legal team. Corryn Rayney's sister Sharon Coutinho arrived at the same time through another entry with her husband Rohan and father Ernest D'Silva. The hearing continues tomorrow.