A senior lawyer who drunkenly crashed his Jaguar into another car and drove away has had his bid to appeal his prison sentence rejected.
Advocate David Samuel Steenson (57) was jailed for seven months after admitting drink-driving, failing to stop after an accident, and two counts of dangerous driving.
Today, he argued in the Royal Court that the term was “excessive” and that community service would have been more appropriate.
He collided with a Mini Cooper carrying a woman and her daughter on Route de St Jean and drove over a mile with his car damaged (pictured top). No one suffered serious injuries.
Steenson told the court he had “accepted full responsibility” and denied playing down the seriousness of the offence during his sentencing.
“I am genuinely sorry and all other mitigation is subordinate to that,” he told the court.
He also acknowledged alcohol had been a factor in this and a previous offence – an assault on a taxi driver in 2022 – and said he had since sought treatment.
Advocate James Rondel, opposing the appeal, said the original sentence was not “wrong in principle or manifestly excessive” and said that the offending was serious.
Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq, sitting with Jurats Averty and Opfermann, rejected the appeal. They said that reasons for the decision will be issued at a later date.