Sentencing judges who depart from the Jurisic guideline for dangerous driving causing death must articulate their reasons for doing so; failure to do so is an error. Reliance on pre-Jurisic sentencing statistics is inappropriate. Even where compelling subjective circumstances exist, a sentence of periodic detention rather than full-time custody for dangerous driving causing death with a blood alcohol level approximately twice the legal limit will ordinarily be manifestly inadequate. However, the continuum of moral culpability in s 52A offences is recognised, and circumstances in which an offender came to drive while intoxicated are relevant to assessing culpability.
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