The totality principle applies to sentencing for contempt of court, including under s 234 of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). Where a sentencing court imposes individual sentences for discrete charges of contempt, it must consider the totality principle in determining the total effective sentence and cannot simply accumulate individual sentences. The contrary view in Lescosky v Durante should not be followed. The Barbaro principle against prosecution submissions on sentencing range applies by analogy to contempt proceedings.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 11 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 11 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.