R v Foster

[2002] QCA 482

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Foster [2002] QCA 482

PARTIES:

R
v
FOSTER, Gregory Bruce
(appellant)

FILE NO/S:

CA No 246 of 2002
DC No 574 of 2002

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Appeal against Conviction

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED EXTEMPORE ON:

6 November 2002 

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

6 November 2002 

JUDGES:

McMurdo P, McPherson JA and Mullins J
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the order made

ORDER:

Appeal against conviction dismissed.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL AND INQUIRY AFTER CONVICTION – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – PARTICULAR GROUNDS – UNREASONABLE OR INSUPPORTABLE VERDICT - where appeal against conviction – where appellant contends the learned trial judge erred in refusing an application of no case to answer – where appellant contends that the verdict of the jury was unreasonable on the evidence– where appeal dismissed.

Criminal Code (Qld), s 24, s 25, s 23, s 328A

M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR, cited

COUNSEL:

A J Rafter for the appellant
M J Copley for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Legal Aid Queensland for the appellant
Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland) for the respondent

THE PRESIDENT:  The appellant was convicted in the District Court at Brisbane, of one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, causing grievous bodily harm.  The appellant appealed against that conviction, on the grounds that the learned trial Judge erred in holding that he had a case to answer and that the verdict of the jury is unreasonable.

Because of the jury's verdict, both grounds of appeal now turn on whether the verdict is reasonable on the evidence.  The background facts are as follows:

The appellant was a taxi driver.  On Friday, 9 March 2001, the complainant was with a group of friends at Gilhooley's Restaurant and Bar, at the Chermside Shopping Centre.  At about 2.00 a.m. the complainant and his friend, Shaun Mitchell, a school teacher, left Gilhooley's, intending to travel by taxi to the city with two female friends, Sharon Wharekawa and her niece, Nicola.

The complainant and Mr Mitchell went to the taxi rank, where Mr Mitchell sat in the front passenger seat of the taxi and the complainant sat behind him in the rear passenger seat.  A third man, unknown to the complainant and Mr Mitchell, sat in the rear seat behind the driver.  The complainant and Mr Mitchell agreed to give this man a lift.  The two women were putting some belongings in their car nearby in the car park.  Mr Mitchell asked the appellant to drive the taxi to their car.

The appellant did so and then became upset, thinking that his taxi would be overloaded with two more passengers.  The complainant opened the rear left door when the taxi stopped, near the women.

The appellant became angry and said, "I'm heading over to security" and accelerated quickly.  The next sequence of events is not entirely clear, but concluded with the complainant…