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District Court 3 August 2022

Ammula v R

[2022] NSWDC 557

Traffic & driving
CRIME APPEAL SEVERITY OF SENTENCE

Citation: Ammula v R [2022] NSWDC 557
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 3 August 2022
Judge: Neilson DCJ

Background

The appellant, an Indian national working as a software professional in Sydney, pleaded guilty in the Local Court at Burwood to driving on a road while his New South Wales driver's licence was suspended. The Magistrate imposed a fine of $700 and disqualified the appellant from driving for four months.

The suspension arose indirectly. The appellant had been caught speeding in September 2021, elected not to pay the infringement notice, and failed to appear at the Hornsby Local Court on 20 January 2022, when the matter was listed. He was convicted in his absence and fined $288. When that fine was also unpaid, his licence was suspended from 25 January 2022. Police intercepted him driving in Auburn on 4 April 2022.

On appeal to the District Court, the appellant sought a reduction in the disqualification period, arguing he had not received the Court Attendance Notice, that his non-attendance at Hornsby was excused by illness (Covid-19), relationship difficulties, and visa concerns, and that he was unaware his licence had been suspended when he drove in April 2022.

  • Whether the appellant had sufficient reason for failing to appear at the Hornsby Local Court on 20 January 2022.
  • Whether the appellant was aware that his licence had been suspended at the time he drove on 4 April 2022.
  • Whether the sentence imposed by the Magistrate, including the four-month disqualification, was manifestly excessive and should be reduced on appeal.

Decision

Neilson DCJ rejected the appellant's explanation for not attending court on 20 January 2022. While Covid-19 symptoms were acknowledged, the judge found the appellant either was already aware of the court date or had his memory refreshed shortly after the event when he saw the relevant email. His Honour found it implausible that a person of the appellant's education level, who acknowledged familiarity with court systems derived from British common law, would take no steps whatsoever to notify the court, seek an adjournment, or inquire about the outcome.

On the question of knowledge of the suspension, the court rejected the appellant's claim that he was unaware of it when driving on 4 April 2022. The appellant had initially produced his Indian driver's licence when asked by police, rather than his New South Wales digital licence. When directed to produce his NSW licence, he produced it digitally, and it was clearly endorsed as suspended. The court found this sequence of events indicated the appellant knew his NSW licence was suspended and had deliberately produced the Indian licence to avoid that fact being detected.

Credibility difficulties were compounded by the appellant's use of two different addresses, including the Guildford address on his affidavit and on a telehealth medical certificate, despite his claimed relocation to Parramatta in August 2021. The court was therefore unwilling to disturb the Magistrate's sentence in any significant respect.

However, Neilson DCJ accepted evidence from two sources that the disqualification period risked the appellant losing his current employment, with both roles requiring a valid driver's licence. On that limited basis, the disqualification was reduced from four months to the mandatory minimum of three months. The appeal was otherwise dismissed.

Orders Made

  • Disqualification period reduced from four months to three months (the mandatory minimum).
  • Appeal otherwise dismissed.
  • Fine of $700 confirmed.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court confirmed that a plea of illness as justification for non-attendance at court will be scrutinised carefully, particularly where the person has the means and capacity to notify the court and fails entirely to do so.
  • Familiarity with a common law-based legal system, evidenced by the appellant's own admission, was treated as relevant to the credibility of a claimed ignorance of court obligations.
  • Producing a foreign driver's licence to police, rather than a domestic one that is clearly suspended, can be treated as circumstantial evidence of awareness of the suspension.
  • No error was established in the Magistrate's fine, but a reduction to the minimum disqualification period was warranted where credible employment consequences were established on the evidence.
  • In dismissing most of the appeal, the court demonstrated that sentence appeals in driving licence matters will not readily succeed on the basis of disputed factual claims where the primary court's implicit findings on credit are supportable.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation

  • Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) (implied, as the source of the offence of driving on a suspended licence, maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or 30 penalty units, with minimum three-month and automatic six-month disqualification periods)

No cases or additional legislation were cited in the judgment.