R v Shepherd

[2006] QCA 233

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Shepherd [2006] QCA 233

PARTIES:

R
v
SHEPHERD, Paul Dennis
(appellant)

FILE NO/S:

CA No 67 of 2006
DC No 9 of 2004

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Appeal against Conviction

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Toowoomba

DELIVERED EX TEMPORE ON:

21 June 2006

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

21 June 2006

JUDGES:

Williams, Keane and Holmes JJA
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the order made

ORDER:

Appeal dismissed

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW - APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL AND INQUIRY AFTER CONVICTION - APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL - appellant convicted upon verdict of jury of assault occasioning bodily harm - appellant fined $500 and ordered to pay $500 compensation - appellant argued assault was not unlawful - whether jury were entitled to conclude that the assault was unlawful

COUNSEL:

No appearance for the appellant
M J Copley for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

No appearance for the appellant

Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland) for the respondent

KEANE JA:  On 16 February 2006 the appellant was convicted upon the verdict of a jury of assault occasioning bodily harm.  He was subsequently fined $500 and ordered to pay $500 compensation.

The appellant seeks to set aside the conviction on the grounds that "the verdict of the jury was unsafe and unsatisfactory". This ground of appeal must be understood as asserting that on all the evidence the jury could not reasonably have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the appellant's guilt. See s 668E(1) of the Criminal Code.

I shall discuss this contention further after first setting out the evidence at trial. 

The Crown case was that on 1 August 2002 the appellant unlawfully assaulted Leah-Ann Jones and did her bodily harm.  It was formally admitted at trial, by counsel for the appellant, that Ms Jones had sustained bodily harm in the incident in question on that date.

The complainant, Ms Jones, gave evidence that at about 5 pm on the day in question she was working as a bar attendant at the Bellevue Hotel in Townsville.  She said that she had refused to allow the appellant to drink a beer that he had ordered because he could not pay for it.

After she attended to a poker machine she then walked past the appellant.  He called her name.  She stopped.  He said, "You can shove the pub up your arse."  She said, "That's your choice, Paul.  You could have just stayed and had a couple of drinks."

The appellant came towards her with an empty beer glass and said, "You're a smart arse bitch.  I'll fix you."  Ms Jones said the appellant raised the glass to the level of her eyes.  She thought that he was going to smash it into her face so she struck out to knock the glass out of his hand.

The appellant then punched her in the jaw and chest four to six times.  The complainant was cross-examined by reference to the hotel's…