Hantzis v The Queen

[2006] NSWCCA 387

NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

View on CaseLaw

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Drug offences
4. › Cultivation of commercial quantity of cannabis
5. › Whether starting sentence of 12 years manifestly excessive
6. › Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), ss 23, 25, 33
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Instinctive synthesis
4. › Proper understanding of the approach
5. › Whether sentencing judge's use of instinctive synthesis obscured reasoning
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Failure to sentence separately for each offence
4. › Multiple charges arising from same factual substratum
5. › Whether Court of Criminal Appeal had power to deal with outstanding charge
6. › Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW), s 7(1A)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal
3. › Court of Criminal Appeal
4. › Powers on sentence appeal
5. › Whether s 7(1A) Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) permits imposition of sentence where no sentence passed at trial
6. › Purposive construction of appellate powers

Quick Take

Section 7(1A) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) empowers the Court of Criminal Appeal to impose a sentence on a count for which no sentence was passed at trial, where the trial judge inadvertently imposed a general sentence covering the criminality of multiple charges. For commercial cannabis cultivation in the upper range of the commercial quantity (850 plants), with a manager (not principal) role and no prior convictions, an appropriate starting sentence is in the range of 8 years before discount for a guilty plea.