A recent case in the County Court has set the cat amongst the pigeons, after highlighting that some alcohol and drug-driving tests weren’t done by the person named on a certificate of analysis tendered by the prosecution.The case was Warren v Wesselman, an appeal at the County Court at Shepparton in May 2013, before Judge …
Continue reading I certify that I tested…nothing! Alcohol & drug-driving tests in the spotlight
A recent case in the County Court has set the cat amongst the pigeons, after highlighting that some alcohol and drug-driving tests weren’t done by the person named on a certificate of analysis tendered by the prosecution.The case was Warren v Wesselman, an appeal at the County Court at Shepparton in May 2013, before Judge …
Continue reading I certify that I tested…nothing! Alcohol & drug-driving tests in the spotlight
The late David Ross QC had some excellent advice for a practitioner proofing a witness (taken from his timeless book on the subject; Advocacy):"Some Bars allow you to see the client and the witnesses, and some not. If you do see them, have someone else present, speak to them one by one, suggest no line …
In Dupas v The Queen [2012] VSCA 328 the Victorian Court of Appeal, sitting as a bank of five judges, declined to follow the precedent of R v Shamouil (2006) 66 NSWLR 228, a decision of the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. In Shamouil, a mid-trial Crown appeal on the exclusion of key prosecution evidence, …
The appeal in Foster v Harris [2012] VSC 637 considered technical arguments about a speeding charge. It was handed down just before Christmas.There were two broad issues:1) did the charge information contain sufficient information; and 2) did the certificate of testing of the prescribed device comply with the regulations, making it admissible.The magistrate determined both …
Continue reading Foster v Harris [2012] VSC 637: technical challenges to speeding offences