R v Taylor [2024] NSWDC 388

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Taylor [2024] NSWDC 388 Hearing dates: 18 July 2024 Date of orders: 18 July 2024 Decision date: 18 July 2024 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Haesler SC DCJ Decision: Sentence of Imprisonment 3 years 9 months with a non-parole period of 2 years 3 months Catchwords: CRIME — Drug offences — Supply prohibited drug — Commercial quantity SENTENCING — Aggravating factors — Record of previous convictions SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Plea of guilty SENTENCING — Penalties — Imprisonment SENTENCING — Relevant factors on sentence — Objective seriousness — Deterrence SENTENCING — Subjective considerations on sentence — Age — Health issues — Childhood sexual abuse Legislation Cited: Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) Cases Cited: R v Burrell [2000] NSWCCA 262 R v L (Court of Criminal Appeal (NSW), 17 June 1996, unrep) R v Sellen (1991) 57 A Crim R 313 Category: Sentence Parties: David Raymond Taylor (the offender) Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) Representation: Solicitors: B Ford solicitor for Douglass & Ford Criminal Law (for the offender) L McGonigal solicitor for Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) File Number(s): 2023/62210

JUDGMENT – ex tempore revised

Introduction 1. David Taylor was born in 1952. He is for sentence today for an offence of supplying a commercial quantity of the prohibited drug methylamphetamine. 2. The offence charged, pursuant to s 25(2) Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and, for an offence which taking into account only objective factors, falls in the middle of the range, there is a standard non-parole period of 10 years. 3. The standard non-parole period and the maximum penalty are guides to the exercise of my sentencing discretion. Content should be given to the guidance offered by the standard non-parole period. But that said, every offence and every offender is different. I do not simply start with the maximum or the standard non-parole period and make proportional deductions from them. 4. I start by considering what was done that establishes the crime for sentence. There are many aspects to this offence that are simply not known. Courts should not speculate. Courts sentence according to what is known. Matters that operate to increase the sentence should be proved beyond reasonable doubt; matters in mitigation, on balance of probabilities. Some matters are uncontroversial, others very much so.