Section 68A of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW), which removes the double jeopardy discount on Crown sentence appeals, is constitutionally valid and applies to appeals pending at the time of its enactment. The provision is narrowly construed as removing only the element of distress and anxiety to which respondents to Crown appeals are presumed subject. A head butt is inherently brutal and a seriously aggravating feature in manslaughter; an offence involving a head butt by a young, powerfully built man against an older, slighter victim cannot be characterised as lying towards the bottom of the range of objective seriousness. General deterrence has particular application to alcohol-fuelled violence by young adults.
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