DPP v Murray [2016] VCC 2093 (31 March 2016)

Last Updated: 16 May 2017

Pages 1 - 4

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised (Not) Restricted Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR -14-02006

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS
v
MICHAEL MURRAY

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	31 March 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Murray
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 2093

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms K. Churchill
For the Accused	Mr C. Dane QC

HIS HONOUR:

1. Michael Murray, you pleaded guilty to an indictment charging you with attempting to pervert the course of justice, the offence having occurred between 23 February and 20 March 2014, specifically relating to the events of 23 February 2014. You have admitted prior court appearances and convictions, albeit of a different nature. You have not served a term of imprisonment previously.
2. The prosecution has tendered and relied upon a summary of prosecution opening and although not all of that was read out because not all of it related directly to your offending conduct, that document is Exhibit A on the plea hearing. I am not going to read it again. It is before the court and it has been read this morning. I incorporate in its entirety into these reasons for sentence.
3. The offence of attempt to pervert the course of justice is always a serious offence and demands a term of imprisonment except in unusual circumstances. You also admitted a related summary offence, namely committing an indictable offence whilst on bail and that is a matter that I have to deal with you for today as well.
4. Your counsel provided me with a detailed outline of submissions in relation to the sentencing indication and I have treated that at least in part as an outline of the submissions that he has made on the plea hearing, and I will mark that Exhibit 1 and I will incorporate that also into these reasons for sentence.
5. That document sets out some of your present and past history, your domestic circumstances and your business interests and your work history. It also draws my attention to the fact that you have pleaded guilty to this matter in circumstances where the plea should be recognised as a significant plea in that you had, it is submitted, a reasonable prospect of being acquitted of the charge, if you were to continue to contest the matter on trial. You have shown a willingness to facilitate the course of justice by tendering your plea of guilty in circumstances where the principal witness in the Crown case may well have been susceptible to successful attack on the basis of credibility and reliability.
6. That in turn supports the proposition that you are remorseful for the conduct and that you have shown a willingness to accept responsibility for your criminal conduct. All of those are matters, which no doubt have supported the prosecution position, namely that they regard the term of imprisonment that you have already served, namely 68 days, as a sufficient term of imprisonment and for that reason, although I thought it was a little bit more than that, 72 days not 68, I regard it as, in view of the Crown submission, sufficient to indicate that I would not impose a term of imprisonment in excess of that.
7. Nevertheless, it has to be said that these are serious offences. I do not regard your offending conduct here as being right at the bottom of the scale by any means. You added some muscle and grunt to the persuasive tactic that was to be applied to get Mr Williams to accept responsibility for explosives that were not truly his primary responsibility. In that sense, it is to be regarded still as a serious offence requiring a term of imprisonment.
8. I would have imposed a significantly greater term of imprisonment had it not been for the facts Mr Dane has drawn my attention to. Ordinarily this would have required a much more significant term of imprisonment than 68 days.
9. However, having said all that, there has been a significant delay of two years and more since the offending conduct and that is certainly a mitigating factor, which I think supports the proposition that this can be dealt with by way of a term of imprisonment not exceeding 68 days coupled with a fine.
10. It is suggested that your family circumstances and your business interests support the proposition that your prospects of rehabilitation are good. I see no reason to doubt that. I hope that is the case and that your appearance in this court will persuade you not to engage in conduct of this kind again. Because if you do, you are in for a pretty substantial sentence. Two strikes attempting to pervert the course of justice in circumstances similar to these would require a very substantial sentence and no prospect of persuading another judge that a sentencing indication could result in any other outcome.
11. You would understand that and I hope that will act as some deterrent to you in engaging in this sort of conduct again in the future. It is necessary for me to denounce your conduct, to impose punishment and to impose a term of imprisonment, which not only deters you but deters other people from committing offences of this kind, as well as facilitating your rehabilitation. I think it is in the overall interests of justice that you be permitted to continue with your family responsibilities and your business interests without any further interruption in all the circumstances.
12. That being so, I am ready to impose a sentence upon you. For the offence on the indictment to which you pleaded guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice, I sentence you to a term of imprisonment of 68 days and I declare that the period of pre-sentence detention, namely 68 days, is to be reckoned as time served on that sentence and to be entered into the records of the court and that will mean that you will not have to serve any further period of incarceration.
13. For the offence of committing an indictable offence whilst on bail, I convict you and I fine you $1,000. I also fine you $9,000 for the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Making a total of $10,000. How long do you need to pay that? Mr Dane?
14. MR DANE: A month, Your Honour.
15. HIS HONOUR: A month. I will give you 30 days to pay that fine of $10,000. I make the disposal order in the terms of the draft which I have been provided. Had it not been for your plea of guilty to these offences, I would have imposed a term of imprisonment of 12 months, a total effective sentence of 12 months and would not have added a non-parole period to that sentencing order.
16. Are there any other orders I need to make?
17. MS CHURCHILL: No, Your Honour.
18. MR DANE: Thank you, Your Honour.
19. HIS HONOUR: All right.
20. MR DANE: Might the accused be discharged, Your Honour?
21. HIS HONOUR: Yes, he may be.