Wheeler v The Queen [No 2]

[2010] WASCA 105

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Mental impairment
4. › Relevance of mental impairment to sentencing
5. › Whether mental impairment need be 'serious' psychiatric illness
6. › Whether mental impairment must be causally connected to offending to reduce moral culpability
7. › Nature and severity of condition as relevant factor
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Appeal against sentence
4. › Additional evidence on appeal
5. › Psychiatric condition diagnosed after sentencing
6. › Test for admission of additional evidence
7. › Whether different sentence should have been imposed
8. › Criminal Appeals Act 2004 (WA), ss 31(4), 39(1), 40(1)(e)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Mental impairment
4. › Generalised anxiety disorder
5. › Causal connection between disorder and offending
6. › Whether evidence sufficient to establish material causal nexus
7. › Weight to be given to retrospective psychiatric assessments

Quick Take

Mental impairment need not be a 'serious psychiatric illness' to be relevant to sentencing, but the offender must still prove on the balance of probabilities that the condition impaired mental functioning to such an extent as to reduce culpability. The nature, severity, and causal connection of the condition to the offending remain critical. Retrospective psychiatric assessments prepared long after offending and sentencing will face significant evidentiary challenges, particularly where the condition was not identified at the time and the reports lack specificity about the nature and severity of the disorder.