Ragulan Yoganathan

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Charge:	Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2015
Year Convicted:	2015
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New Zealand
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Manukau
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Ragulan Yoganathan was wrongly convicted in 2015 of driving under the influence of alcohol in Manukau, New Zealand on the evening of July 25, 2015. Manukau is a district of Aukland. Yoganathan's prosecution was based on him being stopped at a police checkpoint, and a preliminary screening test by a breathzlyzer recorded an alcohol level of 400 micrograms per litre of breath, with 250 mcg being the legal limit. The police didn't receive a response from Yoganathan that he needed to accompany them, and so they forcibly removed him from his car. In the 30 meters from his car to the police vehicle he suffered a broken collarbone and three fractured ribs. The police claimed that Yoganathan's injuries were due to him falling "face forward to the ground." A confirmatory test for his alleged intoxication was never performed. During his trial Yoganathan claimed his injuries were from being beaten by the police. After his conviction following a bench trial in the Manukau District Court Yoganathan was given the sentence of a six month suspension of his driver's license. Yoganathan appealed to the High Court, which affirmed his conviction and sentence. Yoganathan appealed that ruling. On May 31, 2017 the New Zealand Court of Appeal set-aside Yoganathan's conviction on the basis evidence the trial judge erred by failing to exclude all evidence evidence illegally obtained following his illegal arrest for "failing to accompany without delay" -- which Yaganathan had not and was not charged with, and had not been convicted of committing. Without that evidence the sole evidence of the preliminary screening test was insufficient to support his conviction. Regarding Yoganathan's considerable injuries that could only plausibly be explained as deliberately inflicted by the police at the scene, the Court of Appeals' ruling including a "Postscript: It will be apparent that we regard the events which immediately followed Mr Yoganathan’s unlawful detention as a cause of considerable concern. They raise questions about the circumstances in which he suffered serious injuries while unlawfully in police custody. We assume that the Crown Law Office will refer this judgment for further consideration by the appropriate authorities." (Yoganathan v R [2017] NZCA 225 (31 May 2017))"
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On May 31, 2017 the New Zealand Court of Appeal set-aside Yoganathan's conviction on the basis evidence the trial judge erred by failing to exclude all evidence evidence illegally obtained following his illegal arrest for "failing to accompany without delay" -- which Yaganathan had not and was not charged with, and had not been convicted of committing. Without that evidence the sole evidence of the preliminary screening test was insufficient to support his conviction. Regarding Yoganathan's considerable injuries that could only plausibly be explained as deliberately inflicted by the police at the scene, the Court of Appeals' ruling including a "Postscript: It will be apparent that we regard the events which immediately followed Mr Yoganathan’s unlawful detention as a cause of considerable concern. They raise questions about the circumstances in which he suffered serious injuries while unlawfully in police custody. We assume that the Crown Law Office will refer this judgment for further consideration by the appropriate authorities." (Yoganathan v R [2017] NZCA 225 (31 May 2017))"
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Drink-driving conviction quashed for man with fractured ribs, By Staff, New Zealand Herald, June 2, 2017"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11868196
Information Source 2:	Yoganathan v R [2017] NZCA 225 (31 May 2017) (Setting aside conviction)
Information Location 2:	http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZCA/2017/225.html
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Ragulan Yoganathan

Charge:

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2015

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Zealand

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Manukau

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Drink-driving conviction quashed for man with fractured ribs, By Staff, New Zealand Herald, June 2, 2017"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11868196

Information Source 2:

Yoganathan v R [2017] NZCA 225 (31 May 2017) (Setting aside conviction)

Information Location 2:

http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZCA/2017/225.html

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