Carty v The Chief of Police

• Jurisdiction: Antigua and Barbuda
• Court: Court of Appeal (Antigua and Barbuda)
• Judge: Gordon, C. J.
• Judgment Date: 16 June 1970
• Neutral Citation: AG 1970 CA 9
• Docket Number: Criminal Appeal No. 4 of 1970
• Date: 16 June 1970

Court of Appeal

Lewis, C.J.; Lewis, J.A.; St. Bernard, J.A. (Acting)

Criminal Appeal No. 4 of 1970

Carty

and

The Chief of Police

Road traffic - Dangerous driving — Appeal against sentence — Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 283) — Whether sentence was too severe.

Facts: Evidence revealed that the appellant had dangerously driven his vehicle and threatened the Police Officer. He received the maximum sentence under the Ordinance of four months hard labour and was disqualified from holding a drivers licence for 6 months.

Held: The appellant had no previous convictions and the maximum sentence under the Ordinance was $240.00 or 4 months imprisonment. The sentence was therefore too severe and was replaced with a fine of $120.00 or 2 months hard labour.

1 Gordon, C. J. (Ag.): The appellant in this case was convicted by the Magistrate, District A of driving his motor vehicle AG 1150 in a dangerous manner on Market Street, St. John's, on the 22nd January, 1970 contrary to sec. 51 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 283) Revised Laws of Antigua, and was sentenced to four months hard labour and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for six months. The appellant now appeals against this sentence.

2 The circumstances which gave rise to this appeal were that on the 6th March 1969, P.C. Gore was on traffic duty at the junction of High and Market Streets, when he stopped vehicle AG 1150 (a 1 3/4 on Bedford pick up truck) which was travelling in a northerly direction on Market Street. He then asked the driver whether he knew that no vehicle of that type was supposed to travel on...