line 2 bus stop to the beginning of the intersection with Piedras” [street], which would
prove that “the maneuver described by Mohamed, of turning left and proceeding past
[bus] 103 is correct [… and that] he did so more than 70 meters from the intersection
and without causing any inconvenience to traffic”; and iv) that the ruling was based “on
dogmatic statements, which are not consistent with the facts or with the law.”49
54.
On April 7, 1995, the Prosecutor of Chamber No. 1 filed a report in which he
considered it appropriate to “reject the special appeal”, because the doctrine of
arbitrariness invoked by the defense counsel “is of an exceptional nature" and "[its]
automatic concession would require opening a third ordinary instance where the parties
would consider the decision rendered by the judges in the case mistaken.” As to the
citing of Decree 692/92 in the judgment, the prosecutor stated that “although [said
regulation] is not applicable, the final decision does not differ from the one that would
have been reached on the basis of traffic regulations in effect at the time of the event,
which contain similar guidelines to the objective duty of care because they pertain to the
general rules of conduct, manner of passing other vehicles and the right of way of
pedestrians […].”50On April 27, 1995, the plaintiff’s representative filed an answer brief
in response to the special appeal filed by Mr. Mohamed’s defense lawyer, calling on the
Chamber to reject the appeal.51
55.
On July 4, 1995, the First Chamber of the Chamber of Appeals for Criminal and
Correctional Matters issued a ruling in which it decided to “reject the special appeal” and
ordered the appellant to “pay costs.”52 The Court held, inter alia, that the arguments
presented by the defense “refer to matters of fact, evidence and common law, that were
assessed and debated in the challenged judgment” and that this remedy “does not seek
to make the Supreme Court of Justice a third ordinary instance, nor to correct erroneous
or allegedly erroneous decisions.” The Court emphasized that this remedy “seeks to
address exceptional cases in which the total absence of a legal basis prevents
consideration of the ruling of the ordinary judges as a judgment based on law, with
reference to Arts. 17 and 18 of the National Constitution […]”. Next, the Court stated
that:
[a]lthough the Court has made a material error in citing [said] decree, which was not in force
at the time of the incident, the conviction of the defendant is based on the violation of the
49
Cf. Among which the defense emphasized the following: a) the ruling stated that Mr. Mohamed should
not have begun overtaking “before an intersection”, when, according to his defense counsel, the overtaking
“complied with all required preventive measures” and was done when Mr. Mohamed was 76.06 meters from
where the accident occurred; and b) the ruling is not logical in reasoning that Mr. “Mohamed had voluntarily
deprived himself of any possibility of not hitting the victim”. On this last point, the defense counsel stated that
“it is obvious that passing parallel to another vehicle, in an avenue with five or six lanes, it is not possible to
see to the sides” and that “[p]recisely Avenida Belgrano, with one-way multi-lane traffic, is made for all lanes
to be used and for vehicles to move at different speeds or at the same speed if traffic conditions so require.”
According to the defense attorney, the lack of logic in the reasoning of the conviction “is evident if we imagine
that in all avenues with traffic light signals, all vehicles that do not have visibility to the sides must break.” Cf.
Appeal filed on March 13, 1995 by the defense counsel of Mr. Oscar Alberto Mohamed against the Judgment
issued on February 22,1995 by the First Chamber of the National Chamber of Appeals for Criminal and
Correctional Matters (evidence file to facilitate adjudication presented by the State on July 23 and 30 and
August 10, 2012, pages 343 and 344).
50
Cf. Prosecutor’s report presented on April 7, 1995 by the Prosecutor of the Chamber regarding the
special appeal filed by Oscar Alberto Mohamed’s defense attorney (evidence file to facilitate adjudication
presented by the State on July 23 and 30 and August 10, 2012, pages 351 and 352).
51
Cf. Answer brief submitted on April 27, 1995 by the plaintiff’s representative against the special
appeal lodged by the defense counsel of Mr. Oscar Alberto Mohamed (evidence file to facilitate adjudication
presented by the State on July 23 and 30 and August 10, 2012, page 360).
52
Cf. Decision issued on July 4, 1995 by the First Chamber of the National Chamber of Appeals for
Criminal and Correctional Matters (evidence file to facilitate adjudication presented by the State on July 23 and
30 and August 10, 2012, page 363).
18