BARRISTER Lloyd Rayney has been cleared after the Court of Appeal ruled against the State's challenge to his acquittal over the murder of Corryn Rayney.

It took just minutes for the three judges of the Court of Appeal to reveal the state's appeal had been unanimously dismissed.

Mr Rayney greeted the news with a faint smile.

Outside court, a vindicated Mr Rayney said: “For six years, I’ve been treated as if I was guilty.

"Now after millions of dollars, literally millions of dollars, have been spent pursuing me and me alone, a trial judge found that not only was I not guilty, but that I could not have possibly have done what was claimed I had done against Corryn in any way.''

“I was not responsible in any way for her death. Three appeal judges have upheld the trial judge’s verdict. That, I presume, is the end of the matter.

“What will happen to those police who the trial judge has said had acted reprehensibly, had used their positions and abused their positions of trust, had given misleading evidence that had persuaded, put pressure on and tried to make a doctor change his report.

"The person who is responsible is still out there and my family want that person to be caught.''

Mrs Rayney's sister, Sharon Coutinho and her husband Rohan told journalists she was "devastated'' by the Court of Appeal decision.

“We’re gutted in the last year and we’re gutted today as well. Here we are six years later, we’ve got a life sentence and we’ve got to go home and put up with that life sentence,'' Mr Coutinho said.

“The police . . . they’ve been magnificent and we can only urge them and the powers that be to take this as far as it can go.”

Mr Coutinho said the police had “been the lifeline for us” and “absolutely fantastic".

It is understood that the decision now ends legal action against the former high profile barrister over the death of his Supreme Court registrar wife, who was killed in August 2007.

The State could apply for leave to appeal to the High Court, but that action is now considered unlikely.

If the appeal had been successful, a second trial would have been ordered.

Earlier, Mrs Rayney's family arrived minutes before Mr Rayney, staying close together as they entered the court.

Mr Rayney arrived just after 11.10am, for the 11.30am judgment, saying nothing as he negotiated a media barrage outside the court.

After a two-day appeal hearing in August and six weeks of consideration, three interstate judges are due to hand down their decision.

Mr Rayney, a barrister and former senior prosecutor, was acquitted after a three-month, judge-only trial last November.

But the state appealed against the decision by Northern Territory chief justice Brian Martin to find Mr Rayney not guilty of wilful murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Justice Martin had concluded Mrs Rayney was attacked either at or near her Como home and buried, possibly alive, in Kings Park in August 2007.

He found that Mr Rayney had engaged in "discreditable conduct" by having the family's home telephone tapped, lying under oath and falsely claiming legal professional privilege.

"But discreditable conduct does not prove guilt," he said.

In the appeal, lawyer for the state David Jackson QC argued Justice Martin did not properly consider the evidence as a whole, including a dinner place card with Mr Rayney's name on it found near the gravesite.

During the appeal, lawyers for Mr Rayney argued his acquittal was justified and Justice Martin had followed the law "faithfully".

Charges against Mr Rayney of alleged phone tapping, and Mr Rayney's own defamation action against the state, were suspended during the appeal.