CHRIS THOMSON
He personally dragged the police and State Solicitor through WA’s highest court over a $250 traffic fine – and won.
In a David vs Goliath victory today, Armadale resident Bret Busby (pictured) had his conviction for failing to give way at a stop sign quashed.
Mr Busby represented himself at the Supreme Court appeal hearing where a $250 fine was also set aside and three lost demerit points reinstated.
The quashed conviction and penalties had been imposed at an Armadale Magistrates Court trial after Mr Busby refused to pay a traffic infringement notice issued by police.
But Mr Busby told oneperth.com.au that he had only won a legal battle – not the whole war.
He said he was not fully exonerated – leaving him unable to claim on insurance for a crash that inflicted whiplash and some brain impairment.
Despite this, Mr Busby said he would not be exercising any further appeal rights.
The quashed charges arose from an accident involving Mr Busby’s Subaru and a Holden Commodore utility at the corner of Nicholson Road and Rowley Road in Oakford in June 2010.
Six weeks after the accident, Mr Busby was issued a traffic infringement notice by a policeman who had not attended the crash.
There were three glaring errors in the notice – the supposed date of the crash (July 14 when it had actually occurred on June 13), the crash time (8.50pm versus the actual time of 1.30pm), and the road Mr Busby had been driving on.
Supreme Court Justice Eric Heenan considered Mr Busby had established that a series of procedural errors in the course of the prosecution had led to a miscarriage of justice.
“Notwithstanding that the evidence established that he committed an offence of the kind alleged but on facts which were not alleged, he is entitled to succeed,” Justice Heenan noted.
“Leave to appeal should be granted and the conviction quashed.”
Despite his injuries, Mr Busby remains upbeat.
“I think the appeal was won in spite of me rather than because of me,” he quipped of his do-it-yourself legal skills.
After my drivers licence was suspended at Easter, more than a month after the judgement was delivered, and, more than a month after the WA State Solicitors Office was made aware of the threat to suspend my licence in retaliation for the appeal outcome, for non-payment of the fine that supposedly did not exist, I have received yet another Notice Of Intention To Suspend Licences,l dated 04 May 2012, regarding the unpaid fine for the conviction that was supposedly quashed by the Supreme Court.
It appears that I won nothing, as the WA Supreme Court judgement is clearly of no effect, having been overturned by the WA police force, which apparently has more authority than the WA Supreme Court, apparently being able to at its discretion, overturn judgements of the WA Supreme Court, the judgements of the WA Supreme Court being apparently not worth the paper on which they are written.
And then, a week after the orders were made overturning the conviction and fine, a “Pay the fine or we suspend your licence” notice was issued.
It appears that the magistracy does not recognise the authority of the Supreme Court.