Staehr v Police - [2007] SASC 383

SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
(Magistrates Appeals: Criminal)
STAEHR v POLICE
[2007] SASC 383
Judgment of The Honourable Justice Gray
1 November 2007
CRIMINAL LAW - GENERAL MATTERS - CRIMINAL LIABILITY AND CAPACITY - DEFENCE MATTERS - SELF-DEFENCE AND OTHER FORMS OF DEFENCE
Appeal against conviction - appellant found guilty by Magistrate of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property - defences of self-defence and defence of another raised at trial pursuant to section 15 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) - appellant claimed that he acted for defensive purposes - prosecution tendered evidence of video footage of alleged offending at trial - whether the Magistrate did not properly or adequately direct himself as to the application of section 15 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 - whether the Magistrate's findings were not supported by, or were against the weight of the evidence.
Held: Appeal dismissed - video footage directly refuted appellant's factual account of incident - video footage provided cogent and convincing evidence of appellant's guilt - not reasonably possible that appellant believed that his conduct was necessary for self-defence or in the defence of his partner - acts of appellant were not reasonably proportionate to any perceived threat - prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt at trial that appellant had not acted in self-defence.
R v Martin [2007] SASC 336; Police v Dorizzi (2002) 84 SASR 403; Butera v Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic) (1987) 164 CLR 180, considered.

STAEHR v POLICE
[2007] SASC 383
Magistrates Appeal
GRAY J

This is an appeal against conviction.
The appellant, Robert Carl Staehr, was charged with the offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm[1] and of damaging property.[2] Both offences were said to have taken place on 26 April 2006 at Kilburn. The appellant pleaded guilty to the charge of damaging property but not guilty to the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
[1] Pursuant to Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), section 40.
[2] Pursuant to Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), section 85(3).
The Trial
The trial of the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm came on for hearing before a magistrate. The prosecution presented the complainant, Helen Joy Stueve, and an investigating police officer. As part of the prosecution case, a video footage of the incident was tendered in evidence. The video footage had been recorded by an associate of the complainant. The appellant gave evidence and called his partner, Ms Smith. The Magistrate found the charge proved reasonable doubt and convicted the appellant.
The background to the incident was recounted by the Magistrate in the following terms:
The charges arose out of a set of incidents that occurred on 26 April 2006 at Cromwell Road, Kilburn. At the time the victim of the assault, Helen Stueve lived at 99 Cromwell Road, Kilburn and the [appellant] and his partner, Donna Smith lived almost directly opposite at 98 Cromwell Road, Kilburn.
They were known to each other for some time…

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 Staehr v Police

Details

AGLC: Staehr v Police [2007] SASC 383
Case: [2007] SASC 383
Decision Date: 1 November 2007

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Staehr v Police, the appellant was found guilty by a Magistrate of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property. The appellant raised defences of self-defence and defence of another pursuant to section 15 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA). The appellant claimed that his actions were taken for defensive purposes. The prosecution tendered evidence of video footage of the alleged offending at trial, which directly refuted the appellant's account of the incident.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Magistrate did not properly or adequately direct himself as to the application of section 15 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and whether the Magistrate's findings were not supported by, or were against the weight of the evidence. The court examined whether the Magistrate's findings were open to him on the evidence and whether they were unreasonable.

The court held that the video footage provided cogent and convincing evidence of the appellant's guilt. It was not reasonably possible that the appellant believed that his conduct was necessary for self-defence or in the defence of his partner. The acts of the appellant were not reasonably proportionate to any perceived threat. The prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt at trial that the appellant had not acted in self-defence. Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed.

Orders