It will be a little more than a week before Martin Biondelli learns whether he'll end up serving any time for his careless driving conviction.

On Monday and Tuesday, Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale heard the Crown's appeal of the original sentence of a $1,000-fine and six months' probation.

Biondelli was originally sentenced in 2005 by deputy judge Dennis Overend, who was visiting from B.C. at the time. The man had pleaded guilty to charges of careless driving and operating a trailer without adequate brakes stemming from the January 2004 crash that killed local artist Dereen Hildebrand.

Hildebrand was driving north on the Alaska Highway near Rabbit's Foot Canyon when Biondelli's trailer careened into her lane and crashed into the front of her van.

'It's a particularly difficult case,' Veale said Tuesday after listening to Crown counsel Lee Kirkpatrick argue for four months' incarceration and a suspension of Biondelli's operating privileges for three months.

She cited numerous cases across the country where dangerous driving convictions netted jail time for the offenders.

While she acknowledged this is a case of careless driving rather than dangerous driving, she told the court she could not find any cases where the circumstances of a careless driving conviction were similar to this.

She also pointed out that past cases have shown a sentencing judge would ideally be living in the area with the sentence reflecting the impact on the community.

'This is an extremely small community,' she said, noting the impact in a smaller community is greater.

Biondelli's defence counsel, Andre Roothman, took issue with Lee's arguments, pointing out dangerous driving is in a completely different category as compared to a careless driving charge.

It's almost like looking for a murder sentence in an assault case, he argued.

Within a charge of careless driving, incarceration is not appropriate, Roothman said.

It may have been appropriate had it been the second or third conviction Biondelli has faced, the lawyer said.

The matter needs to be dealt with within the perimeter of careless driving, Roothman argued.

And if incarceration is considered by Veale, a conditional sentence should be granted, Roothman said.

A conditional sentence is served in the community with a number of conditions attached to it. If the conditions are broken, an offender can end up in jail.

Roothman noted that a conditional sentence is served in full, rather than going to jail with the possibility of getting out on parole before the sentence is finished.

In a small community like Haines Junction, where Biondelli lives, community members will likely know of the case and keep a close eye on Biondelli, suggested Roothman.

The lawyer also pointed out that Biondelli, who operates a garage, performs deliveries and is called out to tow vehicles, needs his licence for work.

Veale will hand down his decision on Feb. 23.