The court was divided on whether a sentencing judge's failure to nominate a notional starting point before applying a s 10C guilty plea discount constitutes error: the majority (Nicholson and Lovell JJ) held it does not of itself vitiate the sentencing discretion, while Stanley J held it does. All judges agreed that s 20AAC(1)(d) prohibits the use of s 18A to sentence for a serious firearm offence, and that a sentence imposed in contravention of that provision is not according to law. The majority held such an error warrants correction by resentencing even on a Crown appeal, while Stanley J held the restrictive principles governing Crown appeals required dismissal absent manifest inadequacy.
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