R v Cook [2001] NSWDRGC 9

Drug Court of New South Wales

CITATION : R v Cook [2001] NSWDRGC 9 Regina PARTIES : -v- COOK, Michael Steven FILE NUMBER(S) : 0132 of 2001 CORAM: Her Honour Senior Judge Gay Murrell SC CATCHWORDS: :- Drug Court Act 1998 - section 5 - "an offence involving violent conduct" - s7(2) discretion - antecedents LEGISLATION CITED: Drug Court Act 1998 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) CASES CITED: Chandler v DPP [2000] NSWCA 125; (2000) 113 A Crim R 196; DPP v Ebsworth [2001] NSWCA 318 DATES OF HEARING: 26/09/2001 and 04/10/2001 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 4 October 2001

Regina - R. Sahfiq, Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: Offender - S. Healy, Legal Aid Commission (NSW)

JUDGMENT: 1. The Crown argues, as a preliminary issue, that the offender is not an eligible person within the meaning of section 5 of the Drug Court Act 1998. Alternatively, the Crown argues that, in the exercise of its discretion, the Court ought not to sentence the offender and place him on a Drug Court program under s7 of the Act.

2. The offender has been referred to the Court in relation to a number of offences, four of which are of significance. The four offences in question are as follows.

(1) On 13 June 2000 at Blacktown the offender did break and enter the office building of Senior Tools Pty Limited with intent to commit a felony, i.e. to steal, in circumstances of aggravation, i.e. immediately after the break, enter and steal, the offender was armed with an offensive weapon, a hunting style knife approximately 25 centimetres in length (s113(2) of the Crimes Act 1900).