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[2013] NSWCCA 202
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Wienand v R [2013] NSWCCA 202 (30 August 2013)
Last Updated: 2 September 2013
Case Title:
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Wienand v R
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Medium Neutral Citation:
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Hearing Date(s):
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15 July 2013
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Decision Date:
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30 August 2013
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Jurisdiction:
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Criminal
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Before:
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Hoeben CJ at CL at [1] McCallum J at [46] Schmidt J at [50]
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Decision:
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1. In relation to grounds of appeal a. and b. leave to appeal refused.
2. In relation to ground of appeal c., leave to appeal granted but appeal
dismissed.
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Catchwords:
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CRIMINAL LAW - sentence appeal - supply a large commercial quantity of a
prohibited drug - whether sentence manifestly excessive -
parity - sentence of
co-offender reduced by Court of Criminal Appeal - whether necessary to reduce
applicant's sentence - no basis
for justifiable sense of grievance - different
subjective case and higher position in drug supply hierarchy.
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Legislation Cited:
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Cases Cited:
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Category:
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Principal judgment
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Parties:
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Paul Christopher Wienand - Applicant Regina - Respondent Crown
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Representation
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- Counsel:
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Counsel: Ms S Kluss - Applicant Ms V Lydiard - Respondent
Crown
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- Solicitors:
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Solicitors: SE O'Connor, Legal Aid NSW - Applicant S Kavanagh,
Solicitor for Public Prosecutions - Respondent Crown
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File Number(s):
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2010/401944
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Decision Under Appeal
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- Before:
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Sorby DCJ
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- Date of Decision:
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10 August 2012
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- Court File Number(s):
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2010/401944
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JUDGMENT
- HOEBEN
CJ at CL:
Offence and sentence
The applicant pleaded guilty to one offence of supply a large commercial
quantity of a prohibited drug, namely methylamphetamine,
contrary to s25(2) of
the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 for which the maximum penalty is
life imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 15 years. The amount was
1,848.6 grams.
- On
10 August 2012 the applicant was sentenced by Sorby DCJ to imprisonment with a
non-parole period of 5 years and 6 months commencing
2 December 2010 and
expiring 1 June 2016, with a balance of term of 2 years and 6 months, expiring 1
December 2018.
- The
applicant seeks leave to appeal from that sentence on the following grounds:
a. The sentence imposed on the applicant was manifestly
excessive.
b. The sentence imposed started from a notional starting point that was
too high.
c. The sentence imposed caused the applicant to have a justifiable sense
of grievance when the sentence is compared to the sentence
imposed on Hill, his
co-offender.
Factual Background
- The
facts of the offending were set out in an Agreed Statement of Facts which became
part of Exhibit "A" in the sentence proceedings.
The Crown and defence each
supplied a summary of facts. The following were the facts found by the primary
judge.
- In
May 2010 NSW Police commenced a controlled operation investigating the criminal
offending of Mr Paul Robinson (Robinson). As part
of the operation an authorised
participant (AP), who was a previous criminal associate of Robinson, was
authorised to buy prohibited
drugs from Robinson. The controlled operation
utilised telephone intercepts, listening devices and surveillance.
- In
late October 2010 the AP made contact with Robinson. On 26 October 2010 the AP
introduced an undercover police officer (UCO) with
the intention that the UCO
would purchase prohibited drugs directly from Robinson. During the phone call
Robinson advised the UCO
that he supplied the drugs from someone who sourced
them from another person.
- The
head of the supply chain was an accused person "AM". He would hand the drugs to
the applicant, who would then deliver them to
the co-offender, Hill, at his
place of business where Robinson went to collect them to supply to the UCO. This
place of business
was known as "Razorback Inflatable Boats".
- The
first supply was on 4 November 2010. On that occasion Hill met the applicant at
his private residence the day before "to make
sure that you know everything is
all right". The applicant, Hill and Robinson then attended Razorback Inflatable
Boats at about 6.10pm.
- The
UCO remained outside the premises during the transaction. Robinson supplied the
drugs to the UCO while Hill and the applicant
remained inside the premises. Five
minutes after the transaction, the applicant left the premises. The actual
supply by Robinson
to the UCO was captured on a listening device and video
surveillance. The drugs were seized by the police and the UCO immediately
thereafter. A DAL certificate confirmed that the drugs comprised 249 grams of
methylamphetamine, 978 tablets at 3.5 percent purity.
- The
next supply was on 11 November 2010. On this day, Hill told the applicant by
telephone that the money would be dropped off that
day. The applicant replied
"same as last week," and Hill replied "yes". They then arranged for the drugs to
be dropped off at 6pm
with Hill telling the applicant that he could just wait in
the car "so he doesn't see you". There was a further telephone conversation
in
which those arrangements were confirmed.
- At
3pm the applicant had a telephone conversation with AM who told him that he was
on his way. The UCO was supplied with methylamphetamine
by Robinson at 6.04pm in
exchange for $14,000 outside the Razorback premises. Hill remained inside the
premises during the transaction.
The applicant was not present. At 6.45pm the
applicant had another telephone conversation with AM to organise a meeting place
to
"pick up my pay".
- The
actual supply by Robinson to the UCO was captured by a listening device and
video surveillance. The drugs were seized by the police
from the UCO immediately
afterwards. A DAL certificate confirmed that the drugs comprised 248.6 grams of
methylamphetamine, 995 tablets
at 3 percent purity.
- The
next supply was on 18 November 2010. On that occasion, at 4.43pm the applicant
had a telephone conversation with AM. The applicant
told him that he was
approaching Dolls Point. He picked up the methylamphetamine from AM shortly
thereafter. At 5.27pm the applicant
had a telephone conversation with Hill and
told him that he would be there at 6.10pm. The applicant thereafter attended the
Razorback
premises where he delivered the methylamphetamine to Hill. Robinson
and the UCO arrived shortly afterwards. Robinson supplied the
drugs to the
UCO.
- At
7.56pm the applicant had a telephone conversation with AM in which he asked
where he was. Shortly thereafter, the applicant was
observed handing over a
parcel to AM. The actual supply by Robinson to the UCO was captured on a
listening device and video surveillance.
A DAL certificate confirmed that the
drugs comprised a total of 486 grams of methylamphetamine at 4 percent purity,
with 958 tablets
in one bag and 951 tablets in another bag.
- The
fourth supply was on 2 December 2010. On 23 November 2010 the applicant and Hill
discussed by telephone the next supply. On 24
November 2010, the applicant
exchanged text messages with AM. The two agreed to reduce the sale price to
$8.50 per pill in exchange
for supplies of 5,000 every week until Christmas. On
24 November 2010 the applicant and Hill discussed by telephone the applicant's
supply of the tablets to Hill for $10 who would on-supply to Robinson for
$10.50.
- On
1 December 2010, text messages were exchanged between the applicant and AM,
organising a supply for the following day. On 2 December
2010 text messages were
exchanged between the applicant and AM, organising a supply for the following
day at 3pm. At 2.55pm the applicant
telephoned and said that he was lost. At
2.56pm the applicant met AM in the foyer of the building where AM lived. At
3.19pm the applicant
left that building alone, holding a green bag which was
earlier seen to be held by AM. The applicant was arrested shortly thereafter
with 864 grams of methylamphetamine. This consisted of 3,105 tablets at 35
percent purity and 88 grams of powder at 7 percent purity.
Proceedings before primary judge
- A
number of documents were before the primary judge, including his remarks on
sentence in relation to Hill, whom he had sentenced
on 18 November 2011.
- A
report of a psychologist, Mr Watson-Munro, was tendered on behalf of the
applicant. This report stated that the applicant was born
in 1965 in South
Africa. He came to Australia with his family when he was aged 12. He completed
his school certificate and did two
years of a panel beating course before
joining the Army where he completed his apprenticeship as a panel beater. He ran
his own panel
beating business for six years from the age of 30. He went out of
business, as a result of psychiatric problems due to his substance
abuse, long
working hours and the breakdown of his marriage. He had four children from the
marriage. Thereafter, he had various jobs
in the smash repair industry until his
arrest in 2010.
- The
applicant told the psychologist that he had started smoking cannabis at the age
of 17 and using amphetamines at the age of 19.
This had continued until the time
of his arrest. He had also abused ecstasy and cocaine.
- His
Honour noted that the applicant did not give evidence, or express any remorse
for his behaviour, although he did tell the psychologist
that he was remorseful.
His Honour was prepared to accept that the applicant was genuinely remorseful
because of testimonials tendered
on his behalf. His Honour found special
circumstances because of the applicant's need for ongoing rehabilitation.
- The
applicant had only minor convictions on his record and none for drug use or
supply. The most serious offences concerned contravening
apprehended violence
orders. His Honour found "his general good character is attested to by letters
tendered on his behalf ... the
offender's character is a relevant factor in the
offender's rehabilitation prospects".
- Because
the applicant pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, he was given a 25 percent
discount for the utilitarian value of his
plea. His Honour found that the
offence committed by the applicant "was both for his drug problem and for
profit". His Honour considered
that drug supply for profit was an aggravating
factor.
- In
relation to the offence, his Honour said:
"These facts reveal an objectively serious offence. The amounts of
the drug were significant, well above the thousand-gram threshold.
If it had
made its way into the community, rather than to the UCO, it would have been
capable of doing a great deal of harm, particularly
among the young. General
deterrence is particularly important in a sentencing exercise, to send a clear
message to like minded individuals
in the community that such activities will
not be tolerated. The role of this offender, as in any such offence, is an
important issue
going to the assessment of the objective gravity of the
offence.
The offender was not the principal - that role could be, on the facts, the
person AM from whom the offender obtained the drugs, on
each occasion before
supplying them to Hill and Robinson and ultimately to the undercover officer
known as UCO. Neither Robinson
nor Hill dealt with AM. It was only through this
offender and this placed this offender close to the source of the drugs, higher
up the hierarchy, although in supplies 1, 2 and 3 he only delivers the drugs
from AM to Hill and Robinson.
In the fourth deal he is involved in price negotiation, an indicator of a
greater role in the supply chain than that of a mere courier.
He holds
discussions with someone on the end of a telephone as to price and quantity, and
then negotiates with Hill and Robinson.
The purity of the drugs however was
relatively low. This offence is objectively serious, and in my view of a similar
level of seriousness
to that of the offender Hill." (ROS 5)
- The
primary judge was conscious of the principle of parity between the applicant and
Hill. In that regard, he summarised the relevant
factors as follows:
(i) Both were involved in the same four transactions and with the
same amount of drugs.
(ii) Hill was given a 50 percent discount for his plea of guilty in the Local
Court and his assistance to authorities was described
as being "of great
importance".
(iii) The objective seriousness of Hills's offending was found to be "below,
but not far below the mid range of objective seriousness
of such offences."
(iv) There was a finding of special circumstances for Mr Hill.
(v) Hill had no criminal history and was found to be of good character, for
his community work and research on behalf of the community.
(vi) Hill was the middle man between the applicant and Robinson. The
applicant acted as a middle man between the principal supplier
AM and Hill.
(vii) AM was head of a supply chain and this applicant had direct dealings
with him as opposed to Hill.
(viii) This applicant was the intermediary between the principal AM and Hill,
and therefore higher within the drug hierarchy.
(ix) Hill received no financial benefit from the first two transactions. For
the third transaction, he received $1,000 and had anticipated
a profit of $1,500
for the fourth transaction.
(x) Following the second transaction, the applicant spoke with AM and
discussed a meeting place to "pick up my pay" indicating some
financial
remuneration for that transaction. The applicant anticipated a profit of $3,500
for the last transaction which was significantly
greater than the $1,500 Hill
had just received for that transaction.
- It
should be noted that Hill was sentenced to imprisonment with a non-parole period
of 4 years, with a balance of term of 2 years.
On appeal to this Court, that
sentence was reduced to imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years and a
balance of term of 1
year. The basis for the reduction in the sentence was the
opinion of the Court that the sentencing judge had given insufficient weight
to
Hill's strong subjective case. In that matter: Hill v R [2012] NSWCCA
265, Harrison J (with whom Simpson and Adamson JJ agreed) said:
"6 His Honour also referred to the fact that the applicant had
either been, or at least felt that he had been, threatened by Robinson
and
Wienand. The extent if at all to which his Honour took account of this material
as evidence of some form of coercion is unclear.
It seems on balance likely that
his Honour did take that material into account.
...
24 There is in my view much to be said for the contention that the sentence
imposed upon the applicant is incongruously at odds with
the strong subjective
case. Nowhere is this more apparent than from the terms of the applicant's own
letter to his Honour for sentencing
purposes. That letter chronicles a
frightening and rapid descent into an unpredictable involvement with his
co-accused, wholly foreign
to the life he had lived to that point. He put the
safety of himself and his family at risk for no good purpose and for little
tangible
or other reward or benefit.
...
27 I consider this applicant to have a very strong subjective case, both with
respect to his position before the offences were committed
and since he has been
charged. It seems to me that his Honour has failed in his analysis to
incorporate some matters particularly
affecting the applicant, and has thereby
erroneously given inadequate and correspondingly improper consideration to his
subjective
case. This has in my view resulted in a failure to take into account
some material consideration in the way explained in House v The King
[1936] HCA 40; 55 CLR 499 at 504-5."
THE APPEAL
a. The sentence imposed on the applicant was manifestly excessive.
b. The sentence imposed started from a notional starting point that was
too high.
- The
applicant dealt with these two grounds of appeal together. It is convenient to
follow the same approach.
- The
applicant submitted that the standard non-parole period played a significant
role in the calculation of the sentence in such a
way as to give rise to the
error identified in Muldrock v The Queen [2011] HCA 39; 244 CLR 120. To
support that proposition, the applicant relied upon the assessment of objective
seriousness which the primary judge made when
sentencing Hill. There his Honour
assessed the offence as "below but not far below the mid-range of objective
seriousness for such
offences". The applicant submitted that because his Honour
said in relation to the applicant "this offence is objectively serious
and in my
view, of a similar level of seriousness to that of the offender Hill", he had
incorporated the same erroneous concept into
his assessment of the objective
seriousness of the applicant's offending. As a result, the applicant submitted
that the starting
point for the sentence imposed on him was too high.
Consideration
- In
oral submissions, these grounds of appeal were but faintly pressed. In order to
make out the first ground of appeal, i.e., that
the sentence is manifestly
excessive, it was necessary to persuade this Court that the sentence was
unreasonable or plainly unjust:
Dinsdale v R [2008] HCA 54; 202 CLR 321
at 325. No reason was put forward as to why the sentence imposed on the
applicant was unreasonable or plainly unjust. In those circumstances,
this
ground of appeal should be dismissed.
- I
have some difficulty in understanding the reasoning behind the second ground of
appeal. No Muldrock error was raised in the ground of appeal and yet it
appears to be the focus of the submissions in support of the ground.
- In
any event, there is no substance to the submission that the primary judge
committed the error identified in Muldrock. His Honour did not engage in
a two-stage process, nor did he give undue emphasis to the standard non-parole
period. His Honour did
no more than refer to the fact of the non-parole period
and by reference to the sentence imposed on Hill, his Honour assessed the
objective seriousness of the offending to be "below, but not far below, the
mid-range of objective seriousness of such offences".
The assessment of the
objective seriousness of offending remains an important part of the sentencing
process and of the intuitive
synthesis upon which it is based.
- In
that regard, the observation of Davies J (with whom Whealy JA and Rothman J
agreed) in Butler v R [2012] NSWCCA 23 is apposite:
"26 ... Merely showing that a sentencing judge sentenced
pre-Muldrock following the dictates of Way will not be sufficient
to demonstrate error. What should be ascertained in each case is whether a
reliance on Way has sufficiently infected a sentence with such error that
this Court must intervene. Ordinarily this might occur in cases where an
applicant is found guilty by a jury, with the result that the sentencing judge
will have considered that a two-stage process must
be applied and that the
standard non-parole period is mandatory unless factors can be found to justify a
variation from it. It is
far less likely that intervention will be required from
this Court where a sentence has been imposed following a plea of guilty and
the
sentencing judge has referred to the standard non-parole period as simply a
guideline or yardstick."
- This
ground of appeal has not been made out.
Ground c: The sentence
imposed caused the applicant to have a justifiable sense of grievance when the
sentence is compared to the
sentence imposed on Hill, his co-offender.
- This
was the ground to which the applicant's submissions, both oral and in writing,
were substantially directed. The applicant submitted
that in the case of Hill,
the start point for the sentence imposed by the primary judge was 12 years with
a non-parole period of
8 years. After adjustment for an early plea of guilty and
assistance, that was reduced to a head sentence of 6 years with a non-parole
period of 4 years. After the intervention of this Court, the final sentence
became imprisonment for 3 years and with a non-parole
period of 2 years, i.e. a
start point of imprisonment for 6 years. In the case of the applicant, the start
point was 10 years and
8 months with a non-parole period of 7 years and 4
months. After adjustment for the early plea of guilty, the sentence became
imprisonment
for 8 years with a non-parole period of 5 years and 6 months.
- The
applicant submitted that a comparison of this sentence with the sentence
ultimately imposed on Hill, engendered in him a justifiable
sense of grievance,
i.e., that a reasonable person looking at the circumstances of the case would
regard the applicant's sense of
grievance as justified.
- In
that regard, the applicant relied upon Regina v Wei Pan [2005] NSWCCA
114. There Johnson J (with whom Giles JA and Hoeben J agreed) said:
"34 The elimination of unjustifiable discrepancy in sentencing is a
matter of abiding importance to the administration of justice
and to the
community - the issue is whether the particular sense of grievance or injustice
is a legitimate one: Lowe v The Queen [1984] HCA 46; 154 CLR 606 at 611
per Mason J. The test for determining the existence of a sense of grievance is
objective not subjective. What has to be demonstrated
by the person complaining
on the grounds of parity is not that he feels aggrieved, but that a reasonable
mind looking overall at
what has happened would see that the offender's
grievance is justified: R v Doggett (NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, 24
March 1996, unreported) per Sully J; R v Ilbay [2000] NSWCCA 251 at
paragraph 6."
- The
applicant submitted that because Hill had received a longer sentence than the
applicant from the primary judge, it followed that
the primary judge must have
accepted that the objective criminality of the applicant was less than that of
Hill. Accordingly, it
was submitted, the applicant should be re-sentenced to a
sentence which was less than that imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal
on
HilHHill. The applicant submitted that the comparison of the circumstances of
Hill and the applicant, set out by the primary judge
in his remarks on sentence,
made it clear that both had strong subjective cases, minimal criminal histories
and good prospects of
rehabilitation. It also made clear that the objective
seriousness of their offending was similar.
Consideration
- The
difference in the starting point for the sentences of the applicant and Hill,
with Hill having a higher starting point was never
explained by the primary
judge. Such a result was not justified by his Honour's fact finding. While his
Honour regarded the objective
criminality of the offending as the same, it is
also clear that his Honour found that the applicant occupied a higher position
in
the drug distribution hierarchy than did Hill. The applicant dealt directly
with the principal, AM, whereas Hill was further down
the chain and dealt with
either the applicant or Robinson. A proper appreciation of their respective
positions in the drug distribution
hierarchy can be seen by a comparison of what
each was to receive as a result of the fourth transaction. Hill was to receive
$1,500
whereas the applicant was to receive $3,500. This fact was specifically
noted by the primary judge.
- It
follows that an important point of distinction between the applicant and Hill is
that the applicant clearly occupied a higher position
in the drug distribution
hierarchy than did Hill. This has always been regarded as an important
consideration in drug supply cases
(DPP (Cth) v De La Rosa [2010] NSWCCA
194; 79 NSWLR 1 at [67]; R v Olbrich [1999] HCA 54; 199 CLR 270 at
[19]).
- Another
important point of distinction is the difference in the subjective cases of the
applicant and Hill. This Court found that
the primary judge erred in his failure
to adequately assess Hill's subjective case. The Court found that the strength
of his subjective
case was such that his sentence should be halved. This was
because of the significant element of coercion, to which reference has
already
been made at [25]. There was no similar important factor in the applicant's
subjective case.
- The
final consideration is that to which the majority (French CJ, Crennan and Kiefel
JJ) referred in Green v The Queen; Quinn v The Queen [2011] HCA 49; 244
CLR 462 at [33]:
"33 There is a question whether a sentence which would otherwise be
appropriate can be reduced on the ground of disparity to a level
which, had
there been no disparity, would be regarded as erroneously lenient. In
Lowe that question was answered explicitly in the affirmative by Mason J
and less explicitly but to like effect by Dawson J, with whom
Wilson J agreed.
It has also been answered in the affirmative in a number of cases in the Court
of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales.
On the other hand, as Simpson J correctly
pointed out in R v Steele, the existence of a discretion, where
unjustified disparity is shown, to reduce a co-offender's sentence to one which
is inadequate
does not amount to an obligation to do so. Certainly, the
discretion of the Court of Criminal Appeal to reduce a sentence to a less
than
adequate level would not require it to consider reducing the sentence to a level
which would be, as Street CJ put it in R v Draper, "an affront to the
proper administration of justice." Moreover, if the relevant sentencing
legislation, on its proper construction,
does not permit an inadequate sentence
to be imposed, there can be no discretion on appeal to impose one. Whether or
not the discretion
to reduce a sentence to an inadequate level is available,
marked and unjustified disparity may be mitigated by reduction of the sentence
appealed against to a level which, although lower, is still within the range of
appropriate sentences."
- In
this case, there is no basis for a justified sense of grievance on the part of
the applicant. There were important differences
between his case and that of
Hill. He occupied a higher position in the drug supply hierarchy and Hill had a
much stronger subjective
case.
- Finally,
the criminality of this offence was significant, albeit that the primary judge
regarded it as "below, but not far below the
mid-range of objective seriousness
of such offences". The maximum sentence was life imprisonment. There was a
standard non-parole
period of 15 years. These are clear indicators of how
seriously the community regards this kind of offence. The applicant occupied
an
important position in the drug supply hierarchy. The quantity of drugs involved
was substantial. The offence was committed for
financial gain. The applicant
neither offered nor provided assistance to the authorities. The only positive
features were his subjective
case and good prospects of rehabilitation. In my
opinion, no lesser sentence was warranted.
- I
am not persuaded that a breach of the principle of parity has taken place. Even
if it had, to impose a lesser sentence would be
likely to produce a sentence
which was erroneously lenient.
- This
ground of appeal has not been made out.
- The
orders which I propose are:
1. In relation to grounds of appeal a. and b. I would refuse leave
to appeal.
2. In relation to ground of appeal c., I would grant leave to appeal but
would dismiss the appeal.
- McCALLUM
J: I agree with Hoeben CJ at CL that there is no merit in grounds 1 and 2.
The parity ground raises a more difficult issue. The starting
point of the
sentences passed at first instance (by the same judge) was 12 years in the case
of Mr Hill and 10 years and 8 months
in the case of the applicant. That was
difficult to reconcile with the judge's findings, including his Honour's
conclusion that the
applicant was higher within the drug hierarchy than Mr Hill
and the higher remuneration the applicant expected to receive. Notwithstanding
that circumstance, there was no parity ground in Mr Hill's appeal. The Court of
Criminal Appeal made a finding of patent error and
saw fit to pass a lesser
sentence without reference to the sentence passed on the present applicant and
notwithstanding the considerable
leniency reflected in the combined discount of
50% for Mr Hill's early plea (25%) and past and future assistance to authorities
(a
further 25%): see Hill v R at [3].
- The
sentence imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal upon Hill's re-sentence was
extremely lenient. However, since it is a sentence
passed by this Court, I do
not think it is open to approach the present application on the premise that it
was erroneously so. The
result is that the respective starting points are now 10
years and 8 months for the applicant compared with 6 years for Mr Hill.
Acknowledging the greater discount obtained by Mr Hill, the disparity between
the sentences is revealed more acutely in the fact
that the applicant faces a
non-parole period of 5 years and 6 months compared with 2 years in Mr Hill's
case. In my view, the two
sentences entail a measure of disparity that warrants
a justifiable sense of grievance on the part of the applicant, even having
regard to the matters considered above by the Chief Judge.
- The
High Court in R v Green; R v Quinn considered the authorities as to
whether a sentence which would otherwise be appropriate can be reduced on the
ground of disparity
to a level which, leaving aside the disparity, would be
regarded as erroneously lenient. In the passage set out above in the Chief
Judge's judgment, the Court said, "whether or not the discretion to reduce a
sentence to an inadequate level is available, marked
and unjustified disparity
may be mitigated by reduction of the sentence appealed against to a level which,
although lower, is still
within the range of appropriate sentences."
- Although
the sentence passed on the applicant was in my view entirely appropriate, I
consider that there is marked and unjustified
disparity between his sentence and
that passed on Hill in his appeal such that, in order to afford equal justice to
the two men,
this Court should reduce the applicant's sentence. I would
accordingly have exercised my discretion to reduce the sentence to a level
which
was lenient but still within the appropriate range. My conclusion that a reduced
sentence would still be within the appropriate
range is necessarily informed by
the required premise that, since the comparator was imposed by this Court, it is
not open to me
to regard it to be erroneously lenient. Since mine is a
dissenting view and having regard to the matters to which I have referred,
it is
not necessary and arguably not appropriate to articulate the lesser sentence I
would have imposed
- SCHMIDT
J: I agree with Hoeben CJ at CL.
**********
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