Where a sentencing judge applied the now-abandoned Clark principle requiring exceptional circumstances for a non-custodial sentence in drug trafficking cases, error is established and the appellate court will re-sentence. The Parente principle permits sentencing judges to consider non-custodial alternatives even for serious drug offences where the offender's rehabilitation is well advanced and would be substantially interrupted by custody. On re-sentencing, a strong subjective case characterised by significant rehabilitation efforts can substantially reduce the sentence even for mid-range drug supply offending.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.