Stines v R [2020] NSWCCA 228

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Stines v R [2020] NSWCCA 228 Hearing dates: 5 August 2020 Decision date: 11 September 2020 Before: Meagher JA at [1]; Fullerton J at [2]; Button J at [3] Decision: (1) Grant leave to appeal. (2) Uphold the appeal. (3) Quash the sentence imposed by Judge O'Rourke SC on 27 November 2019. (4) In substitution, the applicant Robert Stines is sentenced to a non-parole period of 1 year to commence on 24 May 2021 and expire on 23 May 2022, to be followed by a parole period of 1 year, to expire on 23 May 2023. (5) The date upon which the applicant is to be released to parole pursuant to this sentence is 23 May 2022. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – appeal against sentence – distortion well beyond statutory ratio by pre-existing sentence structure – strong subjective case – intellectual disability – appeal allowed – applicant re-sentenced Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 94 Cases Cited: Pearce v The Queen (1998) 194 CLR 610; HCA 57 Stines v R [2019] NSWCCA 115 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Robert Stines (Applicant) Regina (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: S J Odgers SC (Applicant) E Wilkins SC (Respondent)

Solicitors: Legal Aid NSW (Applicant) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Respondent) File Number(s): 2018/74290 Decision under appeal Court or tribunal: District Court of NSW Jurisdiction: Criminal Date of Decision: 27 November 2019 Before: O'Rourke SC DCJ File Number(s): 2018/74290