NSW Caselaw
Reported Decision : 7 DCLR (NSW) 196
New South Wales District Court
CITATION: R v David Qin (No 2) [2008] NSWDC 169
HEARING DATE(S): 10 - 19 December 2007 - Trial, 7 March 2008 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 7 March 2008
JURISDICTION: Criminal
JUDGMENT OF: Goldring DCJ
DECISION: Objection to contents of Victim Impact Statement allowed in part
CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - Victim Impact Statement - personal harm - mental illness - nervous shock
LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
CASES CITED: R v Slack [2004] NSWCCA 128
PARTIES: Crown David Qin (Offender)
FILE NUMBER(S): 07/11/0576
COUNSEL: P Aitken, solicitor advocate (Crown) B Murray (Offender)
SOLICITORS: NSW DPP Hurlstone Park Legal
JUDGMENT
1 HIS HONOUR: In this matter the prosecution has advised me that the victim of these offences has prepared a victim impact statement which he proposes to tender. Mr Murray, who appears for the offender, has, correctly in my view, drawn my attention to the provisions of the legislation, which relate to the use of victim impact statements. The Crown concedes that, in this case, it does not propose to rely on anything contained in the statement, for the purposes of s 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, that is, as an aggravating or other factor in sentencing.
2 It strikes me as a little difficult to understand the Crown's position, if it is saying that the impact on the victim is not harm, but is still relevant to the process of sentencing. As I understand the purpose of the provisions relating to victim impact statements, it is to allow someone, who has been the victim of an offence, to express his or her feelings about the impact that the offence has had on them. A 'victim impact statement', as defined in s 26, means, "a statement containing particulars of", and I omit some words, "any personal harm suffered by the victim as a direct result of the offence", and 'personal harm' is defined as being the "actual physical bodily harm, mental illness or nervous shock".
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