A sentencing judge who first determines an aggregate sentence and then structures individual sentences to achieve that total commits error under Pearce v The Queen, but the error is not productive of a miscarriage of justice if the individual sentences are themselves appropriate and the total does not infringe the totality principle. Where general deterrence is the dominant consideration in Commonwealth revenue fraud, a suspended sentence may still be appropriate for a co-offender whose youth, dependent personality, domination by the principal offender, and cooperation with authorities constitute exceptional circumstances justifying judicial clemency. The disparity between immediate imprisonment for one co-offender and a suspended sentence for another does not give rise to a justifiable sense of grievance where the difference is attributable to genuinely distinguishing personal circumstances.
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