Dangerous Driving Case: Description, Investigation, Judicial Process, and Results Essay (Critical Writing)

The video presents a case that involved dangerous driving that caused the death of a woman. The hearing occurred in 2018 at the county court of Victoria. The accused and the judge were called Mr. Thomas Hugo Kunahan and Madame Forewoman respectively. The court maintained that the offense in the case was a statutory offense that implied the dangerous driving of the accused, whose eventuality resulted in the death of the woman victim (County Court of Victoria, 2018). However, the court maintained the case was not murder as there was no intent of an evil mind and that the accused was driving while distracted by the phone (Murray, 2019, p. 1125). Additionally, the court maintained critical elements of the case, which included. First, when the offense was committed, the accused was driving a motor vehicle. Secondly, the court maintained that the accused was driving at a speed that threatened the public’s safety. Finally, dangerous driving resulted in the death of the victim. Thus, the accused was fully liable for the offense committed.

Arguably, the accused is well represented by his respective lawyer. Criminal offenses occur in numerous forms; accidental events form part of the criminal offenses. While some accidents end up unreported, thus offenders escaping the jurisdiction, other accidents are noticed and attract hefty penalties. According to Dicey’s ‘rule of law’ advocated that no one should be lawfully made to suffer in either goods or in person except for the law breaching actions on the formed law under legal obligation before the court (Hamida et al., 2018, p.84). While this law aims to protect innocent individuals from lawful punishment, it has direct implications that the offenders should be held accountable. Therefore, considering the case presented, it is clear that the court’s decision on the case was lawful and its implications were acceptable.

The Dicey’s ‘rule of law’ was to instil fear in the general public by punishing the offender to send a message to others. This was instrumental as it would help avert similar offenses. Furthermore, the law ensured that the accused whose criminal actions were proven were entirely held accountable. The interaction between the judge, prosecutor, and the defense counsel was highly interactive and appropriated based on the case context. While each party aimed at playing their significant role responsibly, both parties focused on providing relevant facts that would shape the nature of the verdict. Similarly, while serving their responsibilities, both parties engaged in providing facts and information that suited their diverging interests.

The accused was a young man who committed the offense at 18 years. During the time of the offense, the accused seemed to be aware of his actions leading to the victim’s death. Firstly, the accused, who acknowledged that he was on the phone while approaching the direction victims, implied that he was aware of the dangers of driving while on the phone. Secondly, the accused concurred that he was driving at a relatively higher speed which was threatening public life, especially when he was approaching the roundabout. Contending to be driving carelessly at the given point directly impacts the accused’s understanding of the driving requirement, particularly on the roundabout and the risks of collision. Further, while in court, the victim seemed knowledgeable of the court’s reasons for his ruling. Following the court’s explanation of his sentencing and rehabilitation, the victim was made to understand the court’s reason. All the relevant facts that the court implied were acceptable to the accused. As a result, he appeared to be aware of the occurrences.

Police form the greatest role in the case and across the investigation. They avail relevant data and evidence from the crime sites, the arrest proceeding, and the continuous investigation and interrogation processes (Sun et al., 2018, p. 435). Following the accident evidence, police provided appropriate evidence in revealing the higher speed that the accused was at while approaching the roundabout (Mateen and Tariq, 2019. p 285). Further, supporting their evidence, they revealed that the accused was distracted as he was on the phone while approaching the roundabout actions, which caused a temporary distraction. High speed and phone usage are critical evidence of road-related accidents (Mousseau et al., 2019, p.524). The appropriateness of the police facts was validated to be causality factors in the accidents that led to the victim’s death.

The police gave unbiased evidence as it neither favored any party involved in the case. For instance, police are obliged by the law to provide evidence as a fundamental requirement; they are expected to be knowledgeable and accurate Brian and Cruickshank (2019, p. 368). Firstly, the police reiterated the risks involved in the accused’s actions. Similarly, the evidence provided justified the implication of the risks to the public. Trustful presentation of the location of the accident as part of the evidence was a good indicator of disinterest which police could have otherwise manipulated in favor of one party.

Law is a major obligatory organ that stipulates responsibilities and consequences of breaching the responsibilities. The main reason for the existence of law is to ensure that the public maintains law and order while minimizing harm resulting from others’ actions (Kokhanovskaya et al., 2019, p.02002). Similarly, Dicey argues that no man should be punished lawfully apart from when one breaching the postulated law (Chidi, 2020). However, unlawful actions should be discouraged through penalties and prison terms. Punishing the offender was not intended to harm the accused but to denounce the negative actions committed by the latter. Based on the case, the accused’s actions were declared and justified as wrongful. Whether intentional or unintentional, the accused committed a crime that led to the death of a victim (Rodgers, 2021, p.77). A review of the decision made by the court after a series of juror’s involvement was deemed satisfactory. Being a corrective organ, the court was to make the right decision not only in favor of one party but also for the community’s benefit.

Nevertheless, having encountered a loss following the careless actions of the accused, the complaint expected affair trial and judgment. Therefore, the court process has a responsibility to serve justice while also maintaining the community objective of the court (Schmidt, 2018, p.320). Based on the rule of law, the punishment towards the accused was relevant as it was the cause of his actions, such as desired for direct correction of his actions and facilitating shunning others from engaging in similar actions. In support of the court’s decision, it was justified to give a penalty and punishment, respectively, as it was fundamental to safeguard the desires of community improvement.

Furthermore, the assessment of the case has the direct implication of the court’s ability to elucidate clearly to the accused parties and the complaint on the unfolding issues in the case. Based on the manner the County court of Victoria presented the case, I acknowledge the system’s efficacy in place. The system was efficient as it made the repercussion of the accused’s actions (Bailey and Bailey, 2022, p. 58). A clear and logical explanation of the actions is instrumental in enabling the accused to understand the punishment attributed to their actions. Further, it is sufficient to make the individual know the importance of avoiding the crime by clearly presenting the reasons for court sentences. Such would invoke the individual to acknowledge their mistakes and prevent them in the future.

However, less focus was made on the complainants’ side throughout the court process. For instance, despite finding the accused guilty of the offense, the victim’s party was not focused. A victim’s tragic death directly impacts the deceased close family (Outland et al., (2020, p. 8). Being a mother, an insight should be made into the deceased family. To ensure that the family left behind will be sustained after the loss, the court should conduct a preview before the trial and articulate how it would manoeuvre over the issue. Arguably, the compensation process mainly relied on the actual status of the victim (Absar, 2020, p. 40). It is the collective responsibility of the court to mobilize the judicial proceeding to offset the untimely demise and loss by working closely with the accused family to compensate the victims’ side. Such would be instrumental in enabling the victim to recover from the untimely demises of their loved one.

Finally, this improvement would further strengthen the degree and implication of road carelessness, particularly on the typical offenses under question. This would be instrumental as the public would be more cautious considering the risk and danger, they would be placing themselves on in case of such accidents (Bakishev et al., 2019, p. 41). As a corrective function, the court would fully serve the role while ensuring balance and sharing losses between parties. It will also prevent adversity on the victim’s side.

Bibliography

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