Smith v WA

[2025] WASCA 22

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against sentence
3. › Sentencing discretion
4. › Discounting for mitigating factors
5. › Guilty plea discount
6. › Whether primary judge applied stated discount consistently across counts
7. › Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), s 9AA
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against sentence
3. › Resentencing by appellate court
4. › Drug trafficking offences
5. › Money laundering offences
6. › Whether individual sentences for money laundering were manifestly inadequate
7. › Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 (WA), ss 6(1)(a), 6(1)(c)
8. › Criminal Code (WA), ss 132, 552, 563A(1)(b)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal against sentence
3. › Totality principle
4. › Whether total effective sentence infringed totality principle
5. › Leave to appeal refused as unnecessary to determine

Quick Take

Where a sentencing judge states an intention to apply a specific percentage discount for guilty pleas and additional mitigating factors, the actual sentences imposed must consistently reflect those stated discounts across all counts, and a failure to do so across a range of counts creates an unacceptable risk that the sentencing discretion has miscarried.