Siskopoulos v WA

[2022] WASCA 138

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Parity principle
4. › Co-offenders
5. › Whether disparity or lack of disparity gives rise to justifiable sense of grievance
6. › Effect of totality principle on co-offender's sentence
7. › Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 (WA), s 6(1)(a), s 33(1)(a), s 34(1)(a)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Totality principle
4. › Interaction with parity principle
5. › Co-offender serving existing sentence at time of common offending
6. › Whether totality-adjusted sentence explains lack of disparity
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against sentence
3. › Leave to appeal
4. › Parity ground

Quick Take

When a co-offender's sentence has been adjusted for totality because they were already serving a sentence, the parity principle cannot be applied by comparing the appellant's sentence with the co-offender's totality-adjusted sentence in isolation. The question of parity must take into account all components of the sentences, including the total effective sentence and the reasons for any totality adjustment. A co-offender's sentence being reduced or made concurrent on totality grounds does not, without more, give rise to a justifiable sense of grievance.