R v Crombie [1999] NSWCCA 297

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal CITATION : R v Crombie [1999] NSWCCA 297 FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60851/98 HEARING DATE(S) : 15/9/99 JUDGMENT DATE : 15 September 1999

PARTIES : Regina (NSW) John William Crombie JUDGMENT OF : Wood CJ at CL; Simpson J at 24

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 98/51/0194 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER : Ducker DCJ

COUNSEL : Crown: R. Ellis Applicant: C.Craigie SOLICITORS : S.E. O'Connor T.A. Murphy CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - sentencing - appeal against sentence for drug offences - whether manifestly escessive - whether sufficient allowance made for fact that case could have been prosecuted in Local Court DECISION : Leave to appeal granted. Appeal allowed, and in lieu of sentence imposed, the applicant be sentenced, to take into account the matters on the Form 1, to a minimum term of penal servitude for one and a half years from 15 September 1998 and to expire on 15 March 2000, and to an additional term of one year to commence on 15 March 2000 and expire on 14 March 20101. In those circumstances, it is necessary in addition to make an order that he should be rleased on parole at the expiry of the minimum term.

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL

60851/98 WOOD CJ AT CL SIMPSON J

WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 1999 REGINA v JOHN WILLIAM CROMBIE

JUDGMENT

1 WOOD CJ AT CL: The applicant was originally committed for trial in respect of an offence charged under s 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act, that being an offence of supplying drugs on an on-going basis, in this instance on three or more separate occasions between 8 September 1998 and 15 September 1998. 2 On arrest he was also charged, presumably in the alternative, with an offence of supply under s 25 (1) of the Act between those dates, and with three separate offences of supply, presumably as back up charges for individual acts of supply on 12 September 1998, 14 September 1998 and 15 September 1998. It was these acts of supply that provided the basis for the on-going supply charge as well as for the alternative supply charge.