The power to present an ex officio indictment under s 579 of the Criminal Code (WA) is not limited by s 5 of the Code, even where the offence could be dealt with summarily due to the quantity of drug being below the scheduled threshold. Section 5 only applies where a person is charged before a court of summary jurisdiction, and has no application where an ex officio indictment is presented directly to a superior court. Offences of different character committed at or about the same time (here, stealing/reckless driving, assault, and drug possession) are not necessarily part of 'one transaction' warranting concurrent sentences.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 23 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 23 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.