Section 15 of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), which permits a sentencing court to 'inform itself in any way it thinks fit', does not authorise a sentencing judge to engage in private communications or inquiries with witnesses or report authors without the knowledge and consent of the parties. A sentencing judge who privately contacts the author of a psychiatric report commits a breach of procedural fairness amounting to a miscarriage of justice, regardless of whether the information obtained is favourable or unfavourable to the offender. However, where such a breach is established on appeal, the appeal will be dismissed if the Court of Appeal, re-determining the sentence afresh, would not have imposed a different sentence.
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