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Court of Criminal Appeal 2 July 1999

Regina v REEVES

[1999] NSWCCA 269

HomicideTraffic & driving

Citation: Regina v Reeves [1999] NSWCCA 269
Court: New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 2 July 1999
Judge(s): Newman J, Bell J

Background

The applicant pleaded guilty in the District Court at Penrith to three offences arising from a fatal motor accident at Blaxland on 26 April 1997. The charges were one count of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death and two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, all under section 52A of the Crimes Act 1900.

The accident occurred around 12:30am following a day of drinking at a hotel on Anzac Day. The applicant's car left the road and struck two pedestrians. One, a seventeen-year-old girl, was killed. Another pedestrian suffered serious fractures and ongoing psychological harm. A passenger in the applicant's car suffered fractures to his ankle and thumb. Blood samples taken at hospital returned a blood alcohol reading above 0.15, with expert analysis placing the reading at the time of the accident between 0.166 and 0.174 or higher.

The applicant suffered from bipolar disorder and had been prescribed lithium salts and, shortly before the accident, the antidepressant Zoloft. Expert evidence confirmed that combining alcohol with these medications carried significant risks, and the applicant acknowledged she had been warned not to mix alcohol with her medication, including by her own sister on the night in question.

  • Whether the sentence imposed by Taylor DCJ was manifestly excessive or otherwise in error.
  • How the applicant's psychiatric condition and recent sexual assault should bear on her criminal responsibility and sentence.
  • Whether the sentencing approach was consistent with the guidelines subsequently set out by the Court of Criminal Appeal in R v Jurisic (1998) 45 NSWLR 209.

Decision

Taylor DCJ sentenced the applicant to a minimum term of two years and six months and an additional term of two years and six months on the most serious count, with concurrent terms of eighteen months and twelve months on the remaining two counts. He also disqualified the applicant from driving for three years. The sentencing judge found special circumstances justifying the equal division between minimum and additional terms.

Newman J acknowledged the genuine hardship in the applicant's personal history, including her psychiatric condition and a recent traumatic sexual assault. However, the court held that the applicant's awareness that she should not mix alcohol with her medication was directly relevant to her criminal responsibility. Regardless of whether it was the medication interaction or the blood alcohol level alone that caused her driving, she had knowingly created that risk.

The Court then assessed the sentence against the guidelines in R v Jurisic, which were delivered after the sentence was imposed. Those guidelines established a starting point of three years minimum for aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death, with higher sentences warranted by aggravating features. The Court identified several aggravating features in this case: the severity of injuries, the number of people put at risk, the high degree of intoxication, and the applicant's knowledge that she should not have been combining alcohol with her medication.

Having regard to those features, Newman J concluded that a total sentence of five years did not constitute error. Bell J agreed. Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was dismissed.

Orders Made

  • Leave to appeal granted.
  • Appeal dismissed.

Key Takeaways

  • In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed that an offender's awareness of a specific risk, here knowingly combining alcohol with prescription medication before driving, is relevant to assessing criminal responsibility even where that offender has an underlying psychiatric condition.
  • The R v Jurisic guidelines established a minimum starting point of three years for aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death and two years for aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, with higher sentences required where aggravating features are present.
  • Aggravating features identified in Jurisic and applied here included the nature and extent of injuries, the number of victims put at risk, the degree of intoxication, and the ignoring of warnings.
  • A sentencing judge's finding of special circumstances can justify an equal division between minimum and additional terms.
  • No error was established in the sentencing remarks where the judge had dealt sympathetically with the offender's personal circumstances while properly weighing the objective seriousness of the offending.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), sections 52A(2) and 52A(4)

Cases
- R v Jurisic (1998) 45 NSWLR 209