R v Riquelme [2001] NSWDRGC 8

Drug Court of New South Wales

CITATION : R v Riquelme [2001] NSWDRGC 8 Regina PARTIES : -v- RIQUELME, Daniel FILE NUMBER(S) : 0144 of 2001 CORAM: Her Honour Senior Judge Gay Murrell SC CATCHWORDS: :- Drug Court Act - Revocation of s12 bonds under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 - no jurisdiction LEGISLATION CITED: Drug Court Act 1998 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) CASES CITED: DATES OF HEARING: 24/09/2001 and 27/09/2001 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 29 September 2001

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

JUDGMENT: 1. The matter is before the Court for a preliminary decision in relation to a legal issue. Mr Riquelme has been referred to the Court in relation to a number of charges which clearly were properly referred, and which have not previously been the subject of any sentence. He has also been referred to the Court in relation to an application for revocation of a bond imposed under s12 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. That bond was imposed by the Local Court.

2. The prosecution contends that the s12 bond must be revoked, and a sentence of imprisonment served, and argues that the Drug Court has no power to suspend the effect of that sentence under s7 of the Drug Court Act 1998. Alternatively the prosecution contents that, in the exercise of its discretion under s7 of the Act, the Court would decline to suspend a s12 bond sentence of imprisonment which had been activated following revocation of the bond.

3. Section 12 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, appears in Part 2 of that Act, and provides: