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[2015] TASSC 3
Supreme Court of Tasmania
2015-02-17
Pearce J
Original judgment source is linked above.
"An appellate court must not interfere with the exercise of the sentencing discretion except in a clear case of error. A magistrate is vested with a very wide discretion. Whittle v McIntyre [1967] Tas SR 263 (NC6). It is not sufficient to set aside a sentencing order just because a more severe sentence would have been imposed by the appellate court. In the circumstances of this case, the motion must fail unless the Court is satisfied that the sentence was manifestly wrong in its inadequacy, as to amount to a clear error in the sentencing process. Such principles have been stated by courts of this State on a great many occasions and come from the High Court in cases such as House v R [1936] HCA 40; (1936) 55 CLR 499, Cranssen v R [1936] HCA 42; (1936) 55 CLR 509 and Harris v R [1954] HCA 51; (1954) 90 CLR 652. Notwithstanding the wide sentencing discretion in the court below, it is the duty of the appellate court to interfere where it is necessary to do so to avoid such manifest inadequacy in sentence or inconsistency in sentencing standards that the error is of such gravity that it is essential in the administration of justice that the error be corrected. It is not necessary to identify any particular error of law made. The error can be implicit in the excessive leniency in the sentence imposed."
"For many years, judges of this Court have emphasised their condemnation of persistent offending against the Act. In Barrett v Pearce A6/1986 at 4, Neasey J referred to the need for adequate consideration to the seriousness of the repetition factor, and the necessity of giving due weight to the principle of deterrence. In Briant v Bessell (1994) 74 A Crim R 204 at 208, Zeeman J referred to the clear legislative intent evinced by the Act to treat the driving of motor vehicles by persons affected by the consumption of intoxicating liquor as a grave social evil that was to be visited with penalties severe enough to act as a general deterrent and as a personal deterrent to the particular offender. His Honour expressed the view that the imposition of terms of imprisonment ought not be reserved for extraordinary cases. Likewise in Peck v Visser [1999] TASSC 38 at par8, Wright J confirmed the view of this Court over many years that persistent offenders under the Act merit severe punishment. At par17, his Honour referred, in the particular circumstances of the case with which he was dealing, to the apparent fact that the offender had not been deterred by increasingly severe penalties and described him as a persistent danger on the State's roads.
15 Statements of those kind have been made or repeated in many cases. See, for example, Boyd v Peters [1988] TASSC 3; [1988] Tas R 66 at 72; Devine v Maher [1990] TASRp 13; [1990] Tas R 147 at 149 - 150; Harriss v Walker (1996) 89 A Crim R 257 at 260."
"The cumulative operation of a sentence, and that an offender is serving part of a previous sentence having breached his parole, is to be taken into account in assessing whether the aggregate of sentences imposed is a just and appropriate measure of the total criminality involved: Postiglione v R [1997] HCA 26; (1997) 189 CLR 295 per McHugh J at 307 - 308; Mill v R [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59; R v Piacentino [2007] VSCA 49; (2007) 169 A Crim R 348 at 356 - 357."
"When a custodial sentence is to be imposed which will be cumulative upon, or which will overlap with, an existing custodial sentence, the judge must take into account that existing sentence so that the total period to be spent in custody adequately and fairly represents the totality of criminality involved in all of the offences to which that total period is attributable."
"Totality is a reflection not of an artificial exercise, but of an attempt to evaluate overall criminal responsibility, achieve relativity and avoid the imposition of a 'crushing sentence', leaving the offender bereft of future change (Postiglione v R [1997] HCA 26; (1997) 189 CLR 295; Mill v R [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59, Wise v R [1965] TASStRp 14; [1965] Tas SR 196)."
"The totality principle applies to both the head sentence and a non-parole period, Mill v R [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59. Subject to the need to preserve a sentence's capacity to achieve all its intended objectives, in my view, a court should, in its approach to fixing a parole eligibility date, if any, be optimistic about a prisoner's rehabilitation prospects. If that optimism proves to be misplaced, it is reasonable to expect that the prisoner will not be paroled as the Parole Board is only empowered to grant a prisoner parole after considering the matters detailed in the Corrections Act, s72(4), which include the rehabilitation of the prisoner, the likelihood of the prisoner re-offending, and the protection of the public."
Barrett
Wilson [2015] TASSC 3
McDonald v Nilsson [2009] TASSC 83; (2009) 54 MVR 32, referred to.
Parker v Bessell [2012] TASSC 78, applied.
Mill v The Queen [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59, applied.
Devine v The Queen [2003] TASSC 52, approved.
(2009) 54 MVR 32
(1988) 166 CLR 59
(1999) 195 CLR 665
(1992) 1 Tas R 234
(2008) 50 MVR 533
(1936) 55 CLR 499
(2009) 19 Tas R 132
(1997) 189 CLR 295
(1936) 55 CLR 509
(1954) 90 CLR 652
(2010) 242 CLR 520
(1992) 3 Tas R 249
(1998) 194 CLR 610
(2005) 13 Tas R 418
(2009) 19 Tas R 233
(1985) 158 CLR 495