1A sentencing judge may have regard to an offender's conduct surrounding the charged offence — such as speeding and mobile phone use while driving — insofar as it informs the moral culpability or seriousness of the offending, without transgressing the De Simoni principle, particularly where that surrounding conduct could only have constituted offences of significantly lesser seriousness than the charged offence.
2Lay witness evidence of a vehicle's speed, combined with physical evidence at the collision scene, may provide a sufficient basis for a sentencing judge to find that an offender was speeding, even where the expert crash investigator did not express an opinion on speed.
3Whether a home detention order would or may affect public confidence in the administration of justice under s 71(2)(a) of the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) is a distinct question from whether the court would exercise its discretion under s 71(1) to make such an order; even if the statutory precondition is not engaged, the court retains a discretion to decline home detention on the basis of the seriousness of the offending and the need for adequate punishment and general deterrence.
