Wilkins v The Queen

Darren Edward Wilkins applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of a lower court concerning his sentencing for culpable driving offences. The respondent was the Crown.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether sentences for multiple culpable driving offences, arising from a single incident causing multiple deaths or serious injuries, should be served concurrently or cumulatively. The applicant argued that such offences, stemming from one act of dangerous driving, should be treated differently from multiple offences arising from a broader escapade of criminality.

The applicant's counsel contended that while multiple counts might arise due to multiple deaths, the underlying criminality was a single act of driving that created a dangerous situation. They distinguished this from situations involving multiple distinct acts of assault, which typically attract concurrent sentences even if part of a single transaction. The applicant's submissions referred to cases such as *Reg v Giorgianni (No 2)*, suggesting that the reasoning on sentencing in that case, despite the conviction being overturned on appeal, remained persuasive regarding the treatment of culpable driving offences.

The High Court granted special leave to appeal.