Gold Coast Pirates of the Caribbean actor says he will drive unlicensed again despite conviction
A PIRATES of the Caribbean actor’s swashbuckling performance in court wasn’t good enough to persuade the judge to let him get away with speeding.
DAX Coxon’s lines could have been scripted by some of Hollywood’s best screenwriters but the Gold Coast actor’s performance in the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday was less than Oscar-winning.
Coxon, whose online profile says he starred alongside Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales, filmed on the Gold Coast last year, put on a swashbuckling performance but failed to win over his biggest critic, Magistrate Michael Hogan.
In keeping with his Pirates character, Coxon, charged with speeding and unlicensed driving after being pulled over in September last year while driving 77km/h in a 60km/h zone on Markeri St at Mermaid Waters, told the court he had not been driving a car but operating a “conveyance” on the “king’s highway”.
“The word ‘driver’ is a legal term,” he said. “I was operating my own conveyance while travelling the king’s highway in the common law jurisdiction. As I’ve stated many times, I’m not a driver ... I don’t speak legalese and I don’t fall under the jurisdiction of these laws.”
The court was told Coxon’s licence had been suspended between January and June 2015 and he had failed to apply for a new one following the suspension.
Coxon’s online Star Now profile lists a role in the Pirates film as well as saying he has modelled for Gold Coast jewellery line Hunter Gatherer.
The Currumbin Waters man also told the court he thought the speed limit on Markeri St was 80km/h and he believed he was not required to carry a licence when driving a car. He also tried to argue a section of the Australian Constitution meant statutory laws did not apply to him.
“As I believe I am a living flesh and blood being and using my birthrights, I can only follow and obey the common law ... these are road rules not laws,” he said. “Government and council is just a nameless faceless civil service that have no regard for the common law or natural justice.”
Mr Hogan found Coxon guilty, sentencing him to 40 hours community service for driving unlicensed rather than a fine, noting the actor’s four-page criminal history showed fines for previous similar offences had not deterred him in the past.
Outside court Coxon hinted his latest brush with authority may have little effect on his future driving habits. Asked if he would drive unlicensed again, he replied: “Yeah, I might.”
During sentencing, Mr Hogan said Coxon believed he was above the law.
“It seems you are either suffering some infirmity of mind, or you feel as though you’re so special you don’t have to comply with the laws when everyone else has to,” he said.
Coxon’s licence was suspended for a further three months and he was fined $235 for speeding.