R v Guild CA219/04

Jesse Michael Guild was convicted in the High Court on three counts: two counts of manslaughter arising out of the deaths of two passengers in his car, and one count of reckless driving causing injury to a third passenger. The case came before the Court of Appeal on appeal against both conviction and sentence. The appeal against conviction was dismissed, as was the appeal against sentence.

The Crown's case was that Guild had deliberately turned right against a red light at an intersection, colliding with another car and causing the deaths of two passengers in his car and injuring a third. Guild maintained that the light had been green when he turned, and that in any event the evidence did not establish to the requisite criminal standard that it had been red. The trial judge ruled that evidence of Guild having turned right against a red light on prior occasions was admissible, and the Court of Appeal upheld that ruling. Guild's counsel submitted that the judge should have directed the jury as to the appropriate weight to be given to that evidence, and that the judge should have given a Turnbull direction as to the appropriate weight to be given to the identification evidence. Both submissions were rejected.

Guild's counsel also submitted that the summing up was inadequate, in that it did not properly explain the defence case, or the evidence in support of it. The submissions were rejected, as the summing up had been structured around the issues to be determined, and the evidence relevant to those issues had been laid out. The judge's comments were intended to assist the jury, and did not prejudice the defendant.

The appeal against sentence was based on the disparity between the sentence imposed on Guild and that imposed on the other driver involved in the collision. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal, noting the greater culpability of Guild, his previous convictions, and the lack of remorse shown.