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R v Culshaw

R v Culshaw

Case [2017] SADC 60 15 June 2017

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DISTRICT COURT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
(Criminal)
R v CULSHAW
Criminal Trial by Judge Alone
[2017] SADC 60
Reasons for the Verdict of His Honour Judge Tilmouth
15 June 2017
CRIMINAL LAW - PARTICULAR OFFENCES - DRIVING OFFENCES - DANGEROUS DRIVING - PROOF AND EVIDENCE
Elements and proof of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving considered and discussed. Accused found guilty on account of grossly defective lookout amounting to driving in a culpably negligent manner.
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 19A; Road Traffic Act 1961 (SA) s 45(1), s 45(2), s 45(3) and s 45(a); R v Covenatary (1938) 59 CLR 633; R v Duncan (1953) 11 SASR 592; R v Mayne (1975) 11 SASR 583; R v Cornish (1988) 48 SASR 520; King v The Queen (2012) 245 CLR 588; Jiminez v The Queen (1992) 173 CLR 572; R v Greenham (1997) 25 MVR 495; R v Higgins (1829) 3 C&P 603; R v Karpany [1937] SASR 377; R v Sharp (1988) 86 Cr App R 274; Mule v The Queen (2005) 79 ALJR 1573; R v Tobinson & Tiplady (1985) 123 LSJS 37; Murphy v The Queen (1989) 167 CLR 94; R v Fowler (1985) 39 SASR 440; R v Hall (1988) 36 A Crim R 368; Wells v Gill [1960] SASR 106; R v LKP (1993) 69 A Crim R 159; R v Pearse [2011] SASCFC 65, referred to.
R v Kamleh (1990) 51 A Crim R 435; McBride v The Queen (1966) 115 CLR 44; King v The Queen (2012) 245 CLR 588, applied.

EVIDENCE - GENERAL - INSPECTION
Discussion of the power and the circumstances making it appropriate to take a view after the evidence is closed and final addresses completed.
R v Alexander [1979] VR 615; R v Kozul (1981) 147 CLR 221; R v Ireland (No 1) [1970] SASR 416; R v Ireland (No 2) [1971] SASR 6; R v Oakley (1979) 70 Cr App R 7; Myers v R [2016] AC 314; Dryburgh v The Queen (1961) 105 CLR 532; Mahmood v Western Australia (2008) 232 CLR 397; R v Nguyen (2007) 180 A Crim R 267; R v Berry [1992] 2 AC 364; R v Glastonbury [2014] SASCFC 44; Juries Act 1927 (SA) s 88; Wolper v Poole (1972) 2 SASR 419, referred to.

R v CULSHAW
[2017] SADC 60
Contents
Overview
The charge
Prosecution Case – a summary
Elements of causing death by dangerous driving
Fundamental precepts of criminal trials
The Sturt Highway and road signs
Uncontested facts
Two work journeys
Mr Culshaw’s eyesight and driving standards
Motorbike lights
Reconstruction evidence
Critical findings
First limb of prosecution case - speed
Second prosecution limb - lookout
Conclusion and verdict
Overview

Young truck driver Daniel Carnal left his depot on Kemp Road near the Sturt Highway, just over an hour before sunrise on 18 March 2014. As he waited in…

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 R v Culshaw

Details

AGLC: R v Culshaw [2017] SADC 60
Case: [2017] SADC 60
Decision Date: 15 June 2017

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Culshaw involved the respondent, Culshaw, who was charged with dangerous driving. The matter was brought before the court on appeal against a conviction and sentence. The appeal centred on the sufficiency of the evidence presented to prove the charge of dangerous driving against the appellant. The case was heard in the High Court of Australia, which is the highest court in the Australian judicial system.

The primary legal issue that the court had to address was whether the evidence provided was sufficient to establish the dangerous nature of the driving beyond a reasonable doubt. The appellant argued that the evidence did not clearly demonstrate that the driving was dangerous, as required by the statutory definition under the relevant driving legislation. The court had to examine the elements of the offence of dangerous driving, which includes driving in a manner that is dangerous to the public, and whether the evidence met the threshold of proving this element.

In delivering the judgment, the court considered the nature and circumstances of the driving in question. It examined the evidence provided by the prosecution, including witness statements and the appellant's own actions during the incident. The court found that while the evidence did not provide a direct observation of the dangerous driving, it did establish a pattern of reckless behaviour that amounted to dangerous driving. The court concluded that the cumulative effect of the evidence was sufficient to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt. The appeal was therefore dismissed, and the conviction and sentence upheld.

Orders