Cape Town - Convicted killer Shannon Petersen has managed to get a postponement on his sentence appeal date, despite being late in filing his court papers, after a judge allowed it in the interests of justice.
The full bench appeal in the case of Petersen, who in 2015 was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2013 murder of Devon Claasen, has now been postponed to Wednesday, October 27.
The case had been set for hearing on July 21, but two days before the full bench was to have sat, Petersen’s attorney applied to the Western Cape High Court for the postponement.
The State had already filed a notice of intention to strike the appeal from the roll because Petersen was meant to have filed his court papers in May and failed to do so, but Petersen’s attorney, Mbeko Venfolo, argued that the delay had been caused by Petersen’s family, which had not paid on time.
This excuse did not sit well with Judge Deidre Kusevitsky, who said: “What is concerning in this matter is the manner in which this appeal was dealt with by Petersen’s attorney and the total disregard for the rules of court.
“This matter was set down on April 21, 2021 and allocated to three judges to hear the appeal, with a record of 778 pages, on July 2, 2021.
“On the attorney’s own version, he did not have contact with the family until July 14, 2021, a good two months after the heads of argument had to be filed.
“Where a party seeks an indulgence of the court, he or she must show good cause for the interference with his or her opponent’s procedural right to proceed and with the general interests of justice in having the matter finalised,” said Judge Kusevitsky.
She said the failure, by the attorney to have notified the relevant persons and officers of court, indicates “an utter disregard for the court”.
Nevertheless she ruled it was in the interests of justice that a postponement be granted and for the appeal to be prosecuted as soon as possible.
Judge Kusevitsky also ordered that Petersen should file his heads of argument by September 15, and that the state’s arguments should be in by September 29.