Full case name R v Schoonwinkel Citation(s) 1953 (3) SA 136 (C) End date March 11, 1953 | Charge culpable homicide Judge sitting Steyn J and assessors | |
Court Cape Provincial Division Decided 11 March 1953 (1953-03-11) | ||
In R v Schoonwinkel, an important case in South African criminal law, particularly as it applies to the defence of automatism, the driver of a motor vehicle was charged with culpable homicide, having collided with and killed a passenger in another car. The accused had suffered an epileptic fit at the time of the accident, rendering his mind a blank. The nature of his epilepsy was such that he would normally not have realised or foreseen the dangers of driving, having had only two previous minor attacks, the last a long time before the accident. This evidence, distinguishing this case from R v Victor, exonerated him from criminal responsibility. The court found additionally that this was not a case falling under the provisions of the Mental Disorders Act, read with section 219 of the Criminal Procedure Act.