Rally legend to get retrial
FORMER Cairns champion rally driver Ross Dunkerton has been granted a retrial on a conviction surrounding the common assault of his neighbour, launching an appeal claiming he wasn’t given a fair trial.
The 73-year-old was handed a 12-month good behaviour bond and recognisance of $400, with no conviction recorded in the Cairns Magistrates Court in September last year.
It was a pinch on the bottom of his neighbour, Judy Hope, that landed him in court. Mr Dunkerton appeared before the court with no prior criminal history.
At the time, his solicitor Scott Osborne said he was “disappointed” by the result handed down and would be “taking legal advice”.
About three months later an appeal was taken to the District Court of Queensland and reviewed Tracy Fantin.
The appeal was launched on the grounds that the “learned magistrate failed to give sufficient reasons for her decision”, and due to the late disclosure of Ms Hope’s victim impact statement by the prosecution.
Mr Dunkerton submitted that if the statement had been disclosed as required the trial might have been conducted in a different way, which may have made a difference to the before Judge evidence and verdict. The appeal also stated that due to the late disclosure of Ms Hope’s victim impact statement, Mr Dunkerton and his defence counsel were “deprived” of the opportunity to make further inquiries about the matters referred to in the statement and to crossexamine Ms Hope.
On appeal, the prosecution, represented by prosecutor Steve Baso, accepted that the victim impact statement should have been disclosed as soon as practicable.
The parties accepted that the nondisclosure of the statement “was the result of an oversight”.
As a result, Judge Fantin allowed the appeal.
Mr Dunkerton’s conviction has been set aside and the matter will return to the Cairns Magistrates Court for retrial.
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