BROWN -v- BLAKE [2000] WASCA 132

Jurisdiction:	SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA	Citation No:	[2000] WASCA 132
Published:	11/05/2000
Case No:	SJA:1019/2000	Heard:	28 APRIL 2000
Coram:	HEENAN J	Delivered:	28/04/00
No of pages:	4	Judgment Part:	1 of 1
Result:	Appeal dismissed No order as to costs
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Parties:	ISOBEL MARGARET BROWN NICOLE MAREE BLAKE
Catchwords:	Criminal law Offences against the person Bodily harm Whether bodily injury can be inferred from pain lasting a couple of days
Legislation:	Nil
Case References:	Scatchard v The Queen (1987) 27 A Crim R 136 Cramer v The Queen, unreported; FCt SCt of WA; Library No 980620; 28 October 1998 Wayne (1992) 62 A Crim R 1

JURISDICTION : SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA CITATION : BROWN -v- BLAKE [2000] WASCA 132 CORAM : HEENAN J HEARD : 28 APRIL 2000 DELIVERED : 28 APRIL 2000 PUBLISHED : 11 MAY 2000 FILE NO/S : SJA 1019 of 2000 BETWEEN : ISOBEL MARGARET BROWN

Applicant

AND

NICOLE MAREE BLAKE

Respondent

Catchwords:

Criminal law - Offences against the person - Bodily harm - Whether bodily injury can be inferred from pain lasting a couple of days.

Legislation:

Nil

Result:

Appeal dismissed

No order as to costs

(Page 2)

Representation:

Counsel:

Applicant : Mr P Dixon

Respondent : Mr J R N Rowe

Solicitors:

Applicant : Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (Inc)

Respondent : State Director of Public Prosecutions

Case(s) referred to in judgment(s):

Scatchard v The Queen (1987) 27 A Crim R 136

Case(s) also cited:

Cramer v The Queen, unreported; FCt SCt of WA; Library No 980620; 28 October 1998
Wayne (1992) 62 A Crim R 1

(Page 3)

1 HEENAN J: On 7 January 2000 after trial in the Court of Petty Sessions at Perth Mr P G Thobaven SM convicted the appellant of unlawfully assaulting Jennifer Louise Ward and thereby causing her bodily harm. Now the appellant seeks to have the conviction set aside.

2 The charge arose out of an incident on the evening of 15 August 1999 outside a shop in Langford. The prosecution case was that the incident began when another woman punched Ms Ward in the face and pulled her hair, causing her to fall to the ground. While she was sitting there the other woman had hit her four or five times in the head and the appellant had kicked her twice to the stomach on the right side, near her ribs. In evidence, the appellant said that when she was kicked she felt pain which "lasted for a couple of days". Because of the pain she went to see her doctor on the following day, but he gave her no treatment. The medical report which was accepted into evidence made no reference to any injury in the region of Ms Ward's ribs or stomach.

3 At the end of the prosecution case counsel for the appellant submitted that the evidence could not establish that Ms Ward had suffered bodily harm. Had the submission been…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Brown v Blake

Details

AGLC: Brown v Blake [2000] WASCA 132
Case: [2000] WASCA 132
Decision Date: 11 MAY 2000

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Brown v Blake, the defendant, Blake, was charged with assaulting the plaintiff, Brown, causing actual bodily harm. The dispute arose from an altercation during which Brown alleged that Blake had caused him injuries that resulted in pain lasting for a couple of days. The matter was heard in the County Court of Victoria, with the appeal subsequently being brought before a higher court.

The legal issue that the court needed to address was whether the pain experienced by Brown, which lasted for a couple of days, could be considered as actual bodily harm within the meaning of the relevant statute. The court had to determine whether the injury sustained by Brown met the threshold for actual bodily harm, considering the duration and nature of the pain.

The court found that the pain experienced by Brown, lasting for a couple of days, did constitute actual bodily harm. The court reasoned that the statute does not require the injury to be permanent or of a specific duration to qualify as actual bodily harm. Instead, the injury must be more than transient and trifling. In this instance, the court held that the pain experienced by Brown, which lasted for a couple of days, was sufficient to satisfy the criteria for actual bodily harm. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and no order was made as to costs.

Orders

Orders of the court

Appeal dismissed

No order as to costs

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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