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McDonald v Stevenson

McDonald v Stevenson

Case [2005] WASC 293 16 December 2005

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MCDONALD -v- STEVENSON [2005] WASC 293

Jurisdiction:	SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA	Citation No:	[2005] WASC 293
Case No:	SJA:1035/2005	Heard:	16 DECEMBER 2005
Coram:	HASLUCK J	Delivered:	16/12/05
No of pages:	17	Judgment Part:	1 of 1
Result:	Appeal against conviction allowed No order as to appeal against sentence
Category:	B
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Parties:	ALAN WILLIAM MCDONALD MARK EDWARD STEVENSON
Catchwords:	Criminal law Assault Self-defence Provision of aid by onlooker Degree of force issue Defence of honest and reasonable but mistaken belief Failure to address and resolve certain issues Appeal against conviction allowed
Legislation:	Criminal Code (WA) s 24, s 248, s 249, s 250, s 313
Case References:	Davis v Egan, unreported; SCt of WA; Library No 960659; 15 November 1996 Devries v Australian National Railways Commission (1993) 177 CLR 472 Garrett v Nicholson (1999) 21 WAR 226 Glennon v The Queen (1994) 179 CLR 1 Harling v Hall (1997) 94 A Crim R 437 Lomans v Morony [2000] WASCA 90 M v R (1994) 181 CLR 487 R v Payne [1970] Qd R 260 Randle v The Queen (1995) 15 WAR 26 Verhoeven v Ninyette (1998) 101 A Crim R 24 Whitehead v Procopis [2005] WASC 195 Betts v Hardcastle 120 A Crim R 463 Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118 Griekspoor v Scott (2000) 23 WAR 530 Harper v Page [2004] WASCA 267 Koenig v Ryan [2001] WASCA 339 Lean v The Queen (1989) 1 WAR 348 Milstead v Cream, unreported; SCt of WA; (Walsh J); Library No 8648; 19 December 1990 Neale v Sloan (1997) 27 MVR 246 Pemble v The Queen (1971) 124 CLR 107 R v Tognini (2000) 22 WAR 291 Riley v Gill, unreported; SCt of WA; (Parker J); Library No 970731; 8 December 1997

JURISDICTION : SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

IN CIVIL

CITATION : MCDONALD -v- STEVENSON [2005] WASC 293 CORAM : HASLUCK J HEARD : 16 DECEMBER 2005 DELIVERED : 16 DECEMBER 2005 FILE NO/S : SJA 1035 of 2005

SJA 1056 of 2005

BETWEEN : ALAN WILLIAM MCDONALD

Appellant

AND

MARK EDWARD STEVENSON

Respondent

ON APPEAL FROM:

Jurisdiction : MAGISTRATES COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Coram : MAGISTRATE T J MCINTYRE

File No : RO 4093 of 2004

Catchwords:

Criminal law - Assault - Self-defence - Provision of aid by onlooker - Degree of force issue - Defence of honest and reasonable but mistaken belief - Failure to address and resolve certain issues - Appeal against conviction allowed

(Page 2)

Legislation:

Criminal Code (WA) s 24, s 248, s 249, s 250, s 313

Result:

Appeal against conviction allowed

No order as to appeal against sentence

Category: B

Representation:

Counsel:

Appellant : Mr M J Bowden

Respondent : Mr T C Russell

Solicitors:

Appellant : Cannon Bowden & Co

Respondent : State Solicitor's Office

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

Davis v Egan, unreported; SCt of WA; Library No 960659; 15 November 1996
Devries v Australian National Railways Commission (1993) 177 CLR 472
Garrett v Nicholson (1999) 21 WAR…

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 McDonald v Stevenson

Details

AGLC: McDonald v Stevenson [2005] WASC 293
Case: [2005] WASC 293
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of McDonald v Stevenson involves two appeals arising from a conviction in the Magistrates Court. The appellant, Alan William McDonald, was charged with unlawfully assaulting Dean Jade Cone. The appeals concern the conviction and the sentence. The first appeal focuses on the conviction, which the appellant contests on several grounds, including the Magistrate's failure to consider whether the appellant's actions were in aid of self-defense and whether the appellant honestly and reasonably believed his actions were necessary for self-defense. The legal issues center on the interpretation of self-defense provisions in the Criminal Code and the application of the defence of honest and reasonable but mistaken belief. The court found that the Magistrate erred by not properly determining whether the prosecution had negated the defence available to the appellant, and by not considering the defence of mistaken belief, which was open on the evidence. The appeal against conviction is allowed, and the conviction is quashed, with the matter to be reheard before a different Magistrate. The appeal against sentence is not addressed in detail in this summary, as the focus is on the conviction.

Orders