R v Clout

[2017] NSWDC 114

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v CLOUT [2017] NSWDC 114

Hearing dates:

March 2017

Decision date:

28 March 2017

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Judge S Norrish QC

Decision:

Negligent driving cause death: s 9 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999: good behaviour bond for a period of two years from 28 March 2017.

Negligent driving causing death: s 9 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act1999: good behaviour bond for a period of three years from today. 

Disqualified from holding a motor vehicle driver's licence for 15 months from 28 March 2017.

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL – Sentence, negligent driving causing death - after trial s167 certificate.

Legislation Cited:

Road Transport Act 2013
Crimes Act 1900
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
Criminal Procedure Act 1986.

Cases Cited:

R v Mauger [2012] NSWCCA 51

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Regina
Peter James Clout - Offender

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr McColm – Crown
Ms Bashir SC - Offender

Solicitors:
Director of Public Prosecutions - Crown
Mr Maksisi - Offender

File Number(s):

2015/202098

SENTENCE

1. HIS HONOUR: Peter Clout appears today for sentence in respect of two offences contrary to s 117(1) Road Transport Act 2013.

2. These two offences were matters that were brought to the Court on a s 166 Certificate (Criminal Procedure Act 1986) and are being dealt with pursuant to s 167 of that Act. This Court, the District Court of New South Wales, has jurisdiction in particular circumstances to deal with matters that otherwise would be dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court or the Local Court.

3. The reason the two matters with which I am now concerned are before me is that Mr Clout was tried a fortnight ago, perhaps longer, at the Wagga District Court in respect of two counts of driving in a manner dangerous to other persons on 25 January 2015 at Coolac in the State of New South Wales whereby a vehicle in which he was driving was driven in a manner dangerous resulting in the deaths, from the impact between his motor vehicle and a motorcycle, of Peter Black and Sandra Black. Those two counts were brought contrary to s 52A (1)(c) Crimes Act 1900.

4. The accused was found not guilty by the jury in the trial, however, the matter had on its committal to the District Court attached to it the certificate to which I referred. The two charges on the s 166 Certificate were respectively described as sequence 3 and sequence 4 of the matters before the Local Court originally. They each alleged that the accused at Coolac on 25 January 2015 negligently drove a motor vehicle to whit utility PC 149 upon a road, Muttama Road Coolac, occasioning the death in relation to sequence 3 of Mr Black and in relation to sequence 4 the death of Mrs Black.

5. I agreed to deal with the matters in the District Court. It was open to me to me to remit the matters back to the Local Court, but that would have meant further delay…