Police v Mutton

In the case of Police v Mutton, the appellant, the Police, appealed against the sentence imposed on the respondent who had been convicted of driving a motor vehicle while the concentration of alcohol in his blood exceeded the prescribed limit. The respondent had pleaded guilty to the charge under s 47B of the Road Traffic Act 1961. The primary issue for the court was whether the offence was trifling, which would have allowed the court to reduce the minimum six-month licence disqualification to a period of at least one month. The court also needed to consider the principles of double jeopardy and the power of the appellate court to order that a period of licence disqualification already served be taken into account.

The respondent had driven a short distance to purchase milk for his ill children, and there were no other vehicles on the road at the time. The Magistrate found the offence trifling based on these humanitarian reasons and imposed a fine of $550 and a one-month disqualification of licence. The Police argued that the offence was not trifling because the respondent had driven under the influence of alcohol, which posed a risk to public safety. The court had to weigh the humanitarian reasons for the respondent’s actions against the need to uphold the law and deter similar offences.

The court found that the Magistrate had erred in concluding that the offence was trifling. While the respondent’s actions were driven by humanitarian concerns, the fact remained that he had driven under the influence of alcohol, which inherently posed a risk to public safety. The court set aside the original sentence and imposed a six-month disqualification of licence, taking into account the one month already served by the respondent. The respondent was fined $550 and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence from 8 November 2006 until 8 April 2007.