Networked Knowledge - Media Report

This version of the report has been prepared by: Dr Robert N Moles
Underlining where it occurs is for editorial emphasis]

List of Australian, UK and USA miscarriage of justice cases
Article on Australian miscarriage of justice cases
Article on UK miscarriage of justice cases
Article on USA miscarriage of justice cases

On 15 February 2008 Pia Akerman of The Australian reported “Hit-run pair fail in bid to stay charges”.

She said hit-run lawyer Eugene McGee and his brother Craig are likely to stand trial for conspiring to pervert the course of justice after a judge rejected their bid to halt legal proceedings on a case that has gripped Adelaide for the past five years. South Australian District Court judge Malcolm Robertson yesterday refused the brothers' request to permanently stay the charges against them, opening the way for a trial, though defence lawyers said they still had other applications before the court. It is alleged the brothers conspired to keep Eugene McGee away from police after he ran down cyclist Ian Humphrey in the Barossa Valley in 2003, so he could avoid blood alcohol testing.

Eugene McGee, 53, a well-known criminal lawyer and former police prosecutor, was acquitted of causing Mr Humphrey's death by dangerous driving but fined for driving without due care. It was found he had drunk wine during lunch before the accident. Police did not breath-test him that night. In 2005, Premier Mike Rann established a royal commission into the police investigation and Eugene McGee's trial - the first in South Australia since the Hindmarsh Island royal commission a decade earlier.

In the royal commission, Eugene McGee testified that his brother alerted him when it was safe to go to their mother's house, after police had been there looking for him. He also said Craig, 57, drove the pair to Adelaide that night, stopping at a police roadblock without alerting officers to his brother's presence in the car. Since the new charges of perverting the course of justice were laid following the royal commission, the brothers have argued they cannot receive a fair trial in South Australia because of the publicity surrounding the McGee case.

In his decision yesterday, Judge Robertson said though there were people in the community who harboured "negative views" of Eugene McGee, a substantial number did not have a negative attitude to him, the trial or his sentence. He said there were no circumstances "so extreme" to allow a stay of proceedings, and he was satisfied a fair trial was possible, despite the extent and nature of the publicity. "Any risk that the applicants will not receive a fair trial can be obviated by careful and thorough directions of the trial judge," the judge said.

Counsel for the brothers have previously told the court that the state Government had used the case to gain political advantage by promoting their law and order campaign. The Kapunda Road royal commission criticised police and claimed their investigation was "inefficient and inappropriate". The Government responded with a series of recommendations for changes in police procedure and in the penalties for causing death by dangerous driving. The McGee brothers yesterday refused to comment outside the court. A directions hearing is scheduled for next month.

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