Colin Dunstan v The Queen

Colin Dunstan (the appellant) appealed against his conviction for the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death. The Queen (the respondent) was the Crown. The appeal was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal of Western Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the learned trial judge had erred in law by failing to direct the jury adequately on the element of causation in relation to the charge of dangerous driving occasioning death. Specifically, the appellant argued that the jury should have been instructed that the dangerous driving must have been the *sole* cause of death, or at least a substantial and operative cause, and that the trial judge’s directions were insufficient to convey this to the jury.

The Court of Criminal Appeal considered the established legal principles regarding causation in criminal law, particularly in the context of dangerous driving. It was held that the appropriate test for causation in such cases is whether the dangerous driving was a cause of death, and not necessarily the sole cause. The Court found that the trial judge’s directions, when read as a whole, adequately conveyed to the jury that they must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant's dangerous driving was a cause of the death. The jury had been directed to consider whether the driving was dangerous and whether that dangerous driving caused the death, which the Court deemed sufficient.

The appeal was therefore dismissed.