R v Lacey

(2007) 176 A Crim R 331; [2007] VSCA 196

Victorian Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Trafficking in a drug of dependence
4. › Drug addiction as mitigating factor
5. › Whether addiction linked to commission of offence reduces moral culpability
6. › Whether sentencing judge bound to find requisite link between addiction and offending
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Parity principle
4. › Co-accused sentenced for same offence
5. › Whether disparity between sentences gave rise to justifiable sense of grievance
6. › Relevant points of comparison between co-accused

Quick Take

In Victoria, drug addiction is a significant mitigating factor in sentencing for drug trafficking where the offending was linked to the addiction. A sentencing judge is bound to find the requisite link where the offender's drug use commenced in childhood, the offender became addicted at a young age, the criminal history is drug-related, the trafficking was at street level, and there is no evidence of enrichment. The parity principle requires that even where co-accused have different roles and criminal histories, the disparity in sentences must not be so great as to engender a justifiable sense of grievance in an objective observer.