A sentencing judge's use of emotive and pejorative language, while no individual comment may be objectionable in isolation, can cumulatively give the appearance of a lack of temperance and impartiality sufficient to constitute error in principle warranting appellate intervention. For serious Ponzi scheme fraud involving $7.6 million defrauded from 15 victims over six years, with an early guilty plea attracting a 25% discount, an aggregate sentence of 12 years (9 years non-parole) was appropriate where the sentencing judge had imposed 16 years (12 years non-parole).
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 8 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 8 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.