"Baseless appeal" gets man EXTRA months in prison

Friday 15 June 2018

Guernsey's Royal Court has given a man an extra two months in prison, after he appealed the sentence he was given for assaulting a police officer and disorderly behaviour by the Magistrates Court.

He appeared to argue that his 12 month total sentence was "manifestly excessive", but was sent back behind bars with a new total of 14 months for making an appeal "with no basis at all".

Daniel Steer was originally charged after police attended an incident of disorderly behaviour, and he made for a kitchen knife in a drawer. Police body cam footage recorded the entire incident, and Judge Russell Finch said the officers had behaved correctly and commendably in an alarming situation, and thanked them for their service.

While his defence advocate argued Steer had been obvious in going for the drawer, giving the officers enough time to apprehend him, his excessive criminal record did not work in his favour.

Steer had not been charged with any crimes for the last seven years, but before that, his record proved extensive. It was argued that putting him in prison for these crimes was excessive because it punished his son, who had already lost one parent, as well as Steer himself. 

He was also at a stage in his life where he had moved past substance abuse, but on the night of the incident had lapsed. Since the incident in question, Steer has completed a detox course at the hospital.

But overall, the Royal Court deemed the sentence Steer was given in the Magistrate's Court generous, and "on the side of caution".

His 10 month sentence for the assault on an officer was increased to 12 months, and that is to run consecutively with a two month sentence for the disorderly conduct, meaning he will serve a total of 14 months.

"We want to discourage appeals from coming to the court with no basis at all," Judge Finch concluded.