R v Sheldon

In the case of R v Sheldon, the appellant was convicted by a jury of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing the death of two passengers and leaving the scene when he ought reasonably to have known that both had been killed. The appellant sought to appeal his conviction and sentence, arguing various grounds including alleged miscarriage of justice and manifest excessivity of sentence. The court was required to determine whether the evidence presented at the trial was sufficient to support the conviction, whether there were any misdirections or non-directions by the trial judge, and whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.

The court found that the appellant's arguments regarding the introduction of new evidence were unavailing, as the evidence in question was not truly new but rather could have been procured for the trial. Additionally, the court found that the trial judge had not erred in failing to leave certain defences to the jury, as there was no evidence to support those defences. The court also found that the trial judge had not misdirected the jury in relation to the evidence of the appellant's prior criminal activities, and that there was no need for a propensity direction in respect of the appellant's use of the vehicle.

The court found that the appellant's appeal against sentence was successful in respect of the 2011 conviction, and that the sentence for the 2009 offence should be remitted and re-sentenced. The court found that the sentence for the 2009 offence, when viewed alone, was not manifestly excessive. The court allowed the appeal against conviction, set aside the conviction and ordered a re-trial. The court also granted the appellant leave to appeal against sentence, allowed the appeal, and imposed a sentence of seven years imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date fixed at 2 May 2016. The court declared that the appellant had served between 2 May 2013 and 12 December 2014 as imprisonment under that sentence, a period of 590 days.