Brown (Uriah) v The Queen

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Judge: WALKER, J.A.:
• Judgment Date: 07 March 2003
• Judgment citation (vLex): [2003] 3 JJC 0701
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Date: 07 March 2003

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

COR:

THE HON. MR. JUSTICE DOWNER, J.A THE HON. MR. JUSTICE WALKER, J.A THE HON. MR. JUSTICE SMITH, J.A

SUPREME COURT CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 119/02

R

v

URIAH BROWN

Delano Harrison, Q.C.

Suzette Rogers

CRIMINAL LAW - Manslaughter - Appeal against convictions and sentences - Miscarriage of justice - Gross negligence - Whether sentence manifestly harsh and excessive

WALKER, J.A.:

1 On June 7, 2002 after a trial in the St. Ann Circuit Court the applicant, a Sergeant of Police in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, was convicted on two counts of an indictment charging him with manslaughter. Count 1 concerned the death of Mark Williams and Count 2 that of Gregory Vassell. Following his convictions, on June 13, 2002 concurrent sentences of two years at hard labour were imposed on the applicant. He now applies to this court for leave to appeal those convictions and sentences.

2 The case for the Crown rested mainly on the evidence of Michael McKennon. He was the driver of a Ford Ranger pick-up at the time of this fatal accident. That evidence was rehearsed by the trial judge in the following terms:

"He is driving, he says, and he is on the Llandovery main road going to Kingston. A road that probably you as jurors from this parish may be well familiar with it, but this is what he told you. Driving one afternoon about 12:15, and he is driving his company vehicle. He said he works with AJAS and this was Ford Ranger pick up, left-hand drive vehicle, and he was driving on his left hand side of the road as he proceeded toward St. Ann's Bay.

He said there were vehicles behind him in a line travelling behind him but there was no vehicle ahead, immediately in front of him. He tells you that as he is driving he sees this vehicle overtaking the line of traffic from behind him, and when the vehicle came alongside him, lo and behold it's a police vehicle, and at that moment in time there was coming from the opposite direction two vehicles, a Starlet and a Nissan. They were behind one another. The Starlet was ahead and he tells you that at that moment when the police vehicle came alongside him because of the situation which existed at that time, the police vehicle made a contact with him and then crashed into the oncoming Nissan, because the Starlet had gone on the soft shoulder but the Nissan was there, and the police vehicle crashed into it causing him now, Mr. McKennon, to hit up in the rear of the police vehicle after he had collided with the Nissan motor car.

You have his evidence also where he tells you that when he came out of his vehicle it was close to the left bank where he was travelling along, and that he rushed towards the motor vehicle because the Nissan was now on fire. He told you that he went to rescue the persons in the police vehicle".

3 The two deceased persons, Mark Williams and Gregory Vassell, were the occupants of the Nissan motor car. Both of them perished in their motor car which became engulfed in flames following the collision. The police vehicle which was being driven by the applicant and in which his witness, Inspector Christie, was a passenger also caught fire as a result of the collision. Luckily for them they were rescued in time and their lives saved.

4 The case for the applicant consisted of the evidence of the applicant himself and that of his witness, Inspector Christie. Here is how the learned trial judge recounted the evidence of the applicant:

"I live at Greater Portmore. I am a policeman. Recall Saturday the 14 ^th of March, 2000. I was coming from Montego Bay. I was travelling in a marked police car. I was the driver of vehicle and I was accompanied by Sergeant Trevor Christie of the Jamaica Police Academy. We were in plain clothes. I was travelling on the Llandovery main road, at about 55 to 60 kilometres. I was at the front of the line of traffic. As I approached the middle of the hill, there was a line of traffic, a white Starlet car approached over the brow of the hill. After overtaking a line of traffic, the Starlet cut suddenly in front of the car that was at front of that line of traffic. He continued on the road surface.

A grey Nissan motorcar, which was following close behind the Starlet also came over the hill, overtook the line of traffic and cut suddenly in front of the last car it overtook. I saw when the Nissan went to the extreme left, skidded and cut across the road right in front of my car. When I saw the Nissan heading across the road, I held the steering wheel firmly, held on my brakes, there was nothing else I could do. The car slammed in the left side of the Nissan motor car. Immediately after that impact, I heard and felt a bang in the rear of my motor car.

I woke up at the Kingston Public Hospital the Sunday afternoon, with several fractures and burns to about 30 percent of my body. The question was asked how was your vehicle positioned from the left bang? He said no more than four feet from the left. What was the position of your vehicle at the time of impact, straight in the road? Straight in the road. He says it is not true that...