R v Victor
South African legal case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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R v Victor, an appeal against a conviction by a magistrate, is an important case in South African criminal law, especially as it bears on the defence of automatism. The driver of a motor vehicle was prone to epileptic seizures, and knew as much, but nevertheless put himself behind the wheel of a motor car. He had a seizure while driving and collided with a pedestrian and another car. The court on appeal sustained his conviction by a magistrate on the ground that the negligence which the accused there committed was not so much in the driving of the vehicle, but in his driving at all, knowing of his physical disability. A reasonable person would have foreseen the likelihood of a seizure and refrained from driving.
R v Victor | |
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Court | Transvaal Provincial Division |
Full case name | Rex v Victor |
Decided | 16 October 1942 (1942-10-16) |
Citation | 1943 TPD 77 |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Maritz J and Millin J |
Keywords | |
Criminal law, Traffic offences, Negligence, Involuntary action, Automatism, Epilepsy |
The appellant's attorneys were Frank & Joffe.