A P-plater charged over the death of a teenage girl in a crash will stand trial after his case was adjourned previously because of issues related to his brain injury potentially affecting his fitness to plead.
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Ameen Hamdan appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday charged with culpable driving causing death, culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm and contravening the conditions of his driver's licence.
Police allege Mr Hamdan, 18 at the time of the incident, drove a car into a tree on Longmore Crescent in Wanniassa on October 31, 2020, leaving passenger Alexis Saaghy with life-threatening injuries.
The 16-year-old girl died in hospital three days later.
Following his first court appearance in April 2021, his case was adjourned in July and September due to questions surrounding his fitness to plead because of his brain injury, which required a neurological assessment.
On Monday during mentions of his charges, defence lawyer Ben Rutzou asked the court again for an adjournment to allow a neurological report to be generated in relation his client's fitness to plead.
Mr Rutzou said the earliest appointment was February 16 and that if the court refused adjournment, then he would apply for it to list the matter for a hearing about his client's fitness to plead.
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He tendered a recent medical report to the court and said that under the relevant section of the Crimes Act, if the question about a defendant's fitness to plead is raised in the magistrates court, other than at a committal hearing as was in this case, and the court is satisfied that there is a real and substantial question about that fitness, the court must reserve the question for investigation.
Prosecutor Soraya Saikal-Skea opposed both the adjournment and fitness-to-plead hearing based on public interest, saying it was almost one year since the matter first came before the court.
Ms Saikal-Skea said no solicitor for Mr Hamdan had expressed difficulties or concerns about working with him.
"We all know that many people who've come before the courts have mental impairment, cognitive issues, brain injuries even. Yet, the legislation says they are presumed fit to plead because otherwise if it didn't say that, we would have this exact scenario over and over again," she said.
The court heard that a medical report by a consulting neurologist in June 2021, which may not have included extensive testing, concluded that Mr Hamdan had short-term memory loss described as "mild" and that there was a high probability he would make a slow but full neurological recovery.
Ms Saikal-Skea argued that under the Crimes Act, memory loss alone was not enough to deem a defendant as unfit to plead.
Mr Hamdan had already pleaded not guilty to the charges of causing death and breaching his driver's licence and he entered the same plea on Monday for the grievous bodily harm charge following arguments about fitness to plead.
Via the consent of the legal parties, Magistrate Glenn Theakston committed Mr Hamdan to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.
Mr Theakston, who was set to commit the case to the higher court initially for a fitness hearing, said the case did not serve anyone if it were prolonged.
Mr Hamdan had the driver's licence-related charge transferred to the supreme court as a related charge.
He is set to front that court on February 3 for a mention.
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