A sentencing judge must not equate the culpability of co-offenders in drug importation where each is charged only with importing the quantity in their own suitcase, even where the evidence shows they were part of a coordinated operation. The De Simoni principle prohibits sentencing on the basis of uncharged joint criminal enterprise. Differences in drug quantity between co-offenders remain relevant to parity even where each quantity substantially exceeds the commercial threshold. Expert evidence of borderline intellectual functioning should not be rejected merely because the offender has not provided an account of how they became involved in the offending; the nexus between impairment and offending may be established by inference. However, borderline intellectual functioning does not necessarily require moderation of general deterrence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.