Guernsey Legal Resources

    Following a conviction for failing to provide a specimen of breath, the appellant was sentenced to an immediate term of 21 days’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 6 years. Mitigating factors included the lengthy time since his previous conviction for drink-driving and that his wife, who was approaching end-stage renal failure, needed care and was unable to look after their 5-year-old son. On appeal against the sentence, the appellant submitted that it was manifestly excessive and unfair in the exceptional circumstances existing here. He adduced evidence that he was the only suitable kidney donor for his wife and that the hospital intended to carry out the transplant at the earliest opportunity—if he were to be imprisoned immediately, the transplant might be delayed, perhaps fatally. His wife’s potassium levels were so low that they could trigger heart failure—any extra stress caused by his imprisonment, he submitted, could be critical, and, in any case, he wished to be with her should she need to be admitted to hospital for whatever reason. There were no other family members available to care for their son.