Kapunda Road Royal Commission - Aftermath

Aftermath

Charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice and perverting the course of justice were laid against McGee and his brother Craig over allegations they worked together to "frustrate, deflect or prevent" the police investigation into the hit and run in order to prevent police gaining "evidence of the blood-alcohol reading and sobriety of Eugene McGee". However, they could not stand trial until 2 February 2010 because their lawyer was "unavailable" until that date. On 2 February, citing as a precedent an immigration case before the British House of Lords in 1972, the case was again delayed until 17 March. The House of Lords had found that after failing to attend a meeting there was no statutory obligation for an Indian immigrant to turn himself in as he had not been directed to do so by the immigration department, which McGee's lawyer claimed was "directly analogous" to the case of Eugene McGee. On 17 March, at a hearing that lasted less than a minute, District Court Judge Peter Herriman acquitted the McGees of the conspiracy charges finding that "There was no legal obligation then falling upon Eugene to surrender himself or upon either of them to assist police."

Eugene McGee is still listed with the Law Society as a practising solicitor. Websites advertising his practice list Mr McGee as a defence lawyer for charges of drink driving, culpable driving and dangerous driving offences which has caused anger in the community. Ian Humphrey's widow Di Gilcrist stated, "He is actually profiting from the experience and the stigma that the case has afforded him...It is a sad reflection of the criminal justice system that something so black and white could be manipulated to absolve Eugene McGee of his lack of moral and ethical responsibility" Di Gilcrist subsequently complained to the legal board that McGee's actions amounted to professional misconduct.

In April 2011, a hearing before the Legal Practitioners Conduct Board found McGee was not guilty of "infamous conduct" and ruled that he could continue to practise. The Conduct Board accepted that McGee was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and ruled that it could only consider his actions in the first few seconds after the crash and could not consider his telephone calls to family, his legal adviser or his actions to avoid police. Following the ruling, Senator Nick Xenophon said that the outcome was a disgrace and that the entire board should be sacked. Attorney-General John Rau stated that he would review the Conduct Board's decision.

On 8 December 2011 Attorney-General John Rau closed the McGee case after Crown legal advice suggested the Conduct Board's decision could not be challenged. Opposition justice spokesman Stephen Wade said that Rau could overturn the Board's ruling not to ban Mr McGee from practising and challenged him to release of the Crown's legal advice. Senator Xenophon told the media; "Show us the advice, otherwise his opinion and his decision not to act lacks credibility...Only by releasing the legal advice will the Attorney-General show that he has a genuine commitment to justice in the McGee case".