R v Fraser - [2018] NSWSC 1598

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Fraser [2018] NSWSC 1598
Hearing dates: 22-23 October 2018
Date of orders: 23 October 2018
Decision date: 23 October 2018
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Fagan J
Decision:
(1) Verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.

(2) Order that pursuant to s 39 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act Vanessa Fraser be detained in the place wherein she has until now been remanded in custody, or in such other place as the Mental Health Review Tribunal may hereafter direct until she is released by due process of law.
(3) The Registrar of the Court is to notify the Attorney General, the Minister for Health and the Mental Health Review Tribunal as soon as practicable of these orders and to provide each of them with a copy of:
(a) the reasons of the trial judge given this day, 23 October 2018;
(b) the report of Dr Furst, dated 17 September 2017, marked exhibit 1 in the trial;
(c) exhibit A in the trial incorporating the report of Dr Samuels, dated 24 November 2017 and
(d) exhibit 2 in the trial, being a letter signed by the accused, dated 26 August 2018.
Catchwords:
CRIMINAL LAW – particular offences – offences against the person – homicide – murder – victim killed while driving motorcycle when accused struck victim in car from behind at high speed – where accused exhibited symptoms of psychosis – paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations – where accused acted under delusions – special verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness
CRIMINAL LAW – general matters – criminal liability and capacity – defences – insanity or mental impairment – delusions concerning victim and control of actions of accused – whether accused so mentally impaired that she did not understand the quality and nature of her actions – whether criminally responsible – Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW), s 38(1)
Legislation Cited: Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW)
Cases Cited: Hawkins v The Queen (1994) 179 CLR 500; [1994] HCA 28
R v M’Naghten (1843) 8 ER 718
R v Minani (2005) 63 NSWLR 490; [2005] NSWCCA 226
R v Porter (1933) 55 CLR 182; [1933] HCA 1
Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Regina (Crown)
Vanessa Fraser (Accused)
Representation:
Counsel:
Mr B Campbell (Crown)
Mr J Watts (Accused)
Solicitors:
Solicitor for Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Legal Aid NSW (Accused)

File Number(s): 2017/27170
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

On 22 October 2018 Vanessa Fraser was arraigned before me on a charge that on 6 January 2017 at Cudgera Creek in the State of New South Wales she did murder Trevor William Moran. Death was alleged to have been caused by the accused driving a station wagon at high speed into the rear of Mr Moran’s motorcycle as he was riding it north on the Pacific Motorway about 35 kilometres north of Byron Bay.
The accused pleaded not guilty. The trial…

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 Fraser

Details

AGLC: R v Fraser [2018] NSWSC 1598
Case: [2018] NSWSC 1598
Decision Date: 23 October 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of R v Fraser, the accused was charged with the murder of a pedestrian who was killed while riding a motorcycle when the accused struck the victim from behind in her car at high speed. Fraser exhibited symptoms of psychosis, including paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations. The accused claimed that she acted under these delusions. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide were whether the accused was so mentally impaired that she did not understand the quality and nature of her actions and whether she was criminally responsible for her actions. The court had to consider the defence of insanity or mental impairment as provided for in the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW). Specifically, the court had to determine whether the accused was so mentally impaired that she did not understand the quality and nature of her actions, and therefore not criminally responsible for her actions.

The court found that the accused was suffering from a mental illness that impaired her ability to understand the quality and nature of her actions. The court found that the accused was not criminally responsible for her actions as she was suffering from a mental illness that impaired her ability to understand the quality and nature of her actions. The court found that the accused was not guilty by reason of mental illness. The court's reasoning was based on the evidence presented, which showed that the accused was suffering from a mental illness that impaired her ability to understand the quality and nature of her actions. The court found that the accused was not criminally responsible for her actions and returned a special verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.

The final orders of the court were that the accused be detained in a secure mental health facility until such time as she was no longer a danger to herself or others. The court also ordered that the accused receive appropriate treatment for her mental illness.

Orders