Ritchie v WA

[2023] WASCA 120

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Double punishment
4. › Multiple offences with common elements
5. › Aggravated burglary and grounding offence of stealing
6. › Whether evidence necessary to establish one offence also established the other without more
7. › Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), s 11(1)
8. › Criminal Code (WA), ss 378, 401(2)(ba)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal
3. › Appeal against sentence
4. › Resentencing by appellate court
5. › Increase in individual sentence on resentencing
6. › Totality principle applied to new sentence structure

Quick Take

Where the grounding offence for an aggravated burglary charge under s 401(2)(ba) of the Criminal Code (WA) is the same stealing offence charged as a separate count, s 11(1) of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) and the common law principle against double punishment preclude separate sentencing for the stealing count. The appropriate mechanism is to impose no penalty for the stealing count and incorporate punishment for its factual elements within the burglary sentence. Sentences for aggravated burglary of commercial premises should be firmed up.