A plea of guilty discount cannot be applied on top of the Henry guideline sentence for armed robbery because the guideline already factors in a plea of guilty. The standard non-parole period specified in the Table is taken to be the sentence after conviction at trial; a plea discount must be applied to it. Failure by a sentencing judge to advert to the standard non-parole period regime constitutes appealable error notwithstanding s 54B(5). The circumstance of aggravation that elevates an offence to its aggravated form cannot also be used to escalate the seriousness of the offence within that aggravated category.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 8 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 8 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.