DPP explains reasons for not appealing in hit-run case. 09/05/2005. ABC News Online
South Australia’s new Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has explained why he did not appeal against the fine handed to lawyer, Eugene McGee over the hit-and-run death of cyclist Ian Humphrey. Stephen Pallaras says prosecutors did not ask the judge to impose a prison term if he found that McGee did not completely know what he was doing when he fled the crash scene.

During his trial, the court accepted evidence that McGee was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Mr Pallaras says for that reason, there was no basis for an appeal. “When you ask if there’s a stuff up, it seems to me that according to the discretion that the judge had, the judge certainly sentenced within his discretion and that’s the reason why we decided not to enter an appeal,” he said.

A royal commission will begin a series of hearings on Thursday to examine the way in which the police and the office of the DPP handled the case. Mr Pallaras will not comment on aspects of the case likely to go before the commission, but says he has met with the Humphrey family in his office.
“I’ve expressed the view that we felt sympathy for their position, that we understood the pain that they were going through, at least as far as we could from being observers and we were doing the best we could to do the best job we could,” he said.