Once error is established in a sentence appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal must exercise its sentencing discretion afresh under s 6(3) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW); the Crown's reliance on the contention that 'no lesser sentence is warranted in law' is apt to mislead and should cease. A victim's pre-existing medical condition contributing to death is not, without more, a mitigating circumstance in sentencing for homicide, though it may be relevant to assessing the objective gravity of the offender's conduct. The Crown should not routinely oppose extensions of time in Muldrock-error cases.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 29 later cases that cite this judgment.
18 of the 29 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.