A DNA forensic report stating that the body is deceased Dijana Grdinić, after the traffic accident, moved from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat, was not conducted at the main trial, which is one of the reasons for the annulment of the first-instance decision of the Bijelo Polska High Court.
The Court of Appeal annulled the first-instance verdict Milan Obradović, accused of having committed a criminal offense - a serious offense against the safety of public traffic, respecting the appeals of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje, as well as the defendant's counsel.
The prosecutor's office asked for a harsher sentence, and the defendant's lawyer asked for a new trial.
According to the indictment, on August 23 last year, at around 4.30:XNUMX a.m., Obradović, driving a Nissan vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drove off the road, disobeying traffic regulations and the prescribed speed, killing his passenger, Dijana Grdinić.
The victim's father said at the trial that before the police arrived for the investigation, someone moved his daughter's body from the passenger seat to the driver's seat.
The annulment decision mentions that case and emphasizes that the first-instance court stated in the verdict that the statements of the injured family were confirmed, that the body was moved from the passenger seat to the driver's seat after the accident, and that this was established by the evidence presented:
"Especially with the conducted DNA expertise... According to the finding of the Court of Appeal, it follows from the content of the first-instance verdict that the report on DNA expertise, as evidence, was not conducted at the main trial, and the verdict can only be based on the evidence presented at the main trial. Acting in the above-mentioned manner, the first-instance court committed a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure, and for this reason it was necessary to abolish it", the Court of Appeal states.
By the judgment of the High Court in Bijelo Polje dated April 07, 2022, the accused Obradović was found guilty and sentenced to a prison term of two years and six months.
By the same verdict, he was sentenced to a security measure - a ban on driving category "B" motor vehicles, for a period of four years, to pay the costs of criminal proceedings in the amount of 2.310,50 euros and a lump sum in the amount of 100 euros, which sums he is obliged to pay into the account state budget...
Adjusted or limited speed
The Court of Appeal states that the High Court in Bijelo Polje committed significant violations of the provisions of the criminal procedure when passing the contested verdict and in the verdict itself...
"Thus, in the factual description of the sentence of the first-instance verdict, it is stated, among other things, that the accused was driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol and at an inappropriate speed higher than the speed limited by the traffic sign, referring to the provisions of Art. 35 paragraph 1 and art. 37 paragraph 3 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety (ROAS on Roads), and which provisions exclude each other, bearing in mind that the provision of Art. 35 of ROAS on Roads refers to adjusted speed, and the provision of Art. 37 of ROAS on roads with limited speed. Furthermore, pursuant to Art. 74 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, the defendant was sentenced to a security measure prohibiting the driving of category 'B' motor vehicles for a period of four years, while the first-instance court did not determine that this measure is to be applied from the day the decision becomes final, with the fact that the time spent in prison, i.e. in an institution in which a security measure, or an educational measure, is carried out, is not included in the duration of this measure... Which makes all the sentences of the verdict incomprehensible and represents a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure".
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