Regina v Davis [2001] NSWCCA 70

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : Regina v Davis [2001] NSWCCA 70 FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60512/1999 HEARING DATE(S) : 8 March 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 8 March 2001

PARTIES : Regina v Troy Clayton Davis JUDGMENT OF : Meagher JA at 1, 52, 54; Hulme J at 53; Smart AJ at 2

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : Supreme Court LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 70002/99 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL Greg James J OFFICER :

COUNSEL : (A) P Byrne SC (R) G E Smith SOLICITORS : (A) Ray Finlayson & Associates (R) S E O'Connor CATCHWORDS : Sentencing for murder - discounts for plea of guilty and assistance - parity - special circumstances but no need for a longer additional term. LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes Act 1900 CASES CITED: R v Thomson & Houlton (2000) NSWCCA 309 R v Lulham (2000) NSWSC 703 DECISION : Leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal dismissed.

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL

60512/99 MEAGHER JA HULME J SMART AJ

Thursday, 8 March 2001 REGINA v TROY CLAYTON DAVIS JUDGMENT

1 MEAGHER JA: I will ask Smart AJ to deliver the first judgment.

2 SMART AJ: Troy Clayton Davis seeks leave to appeal against the severity of a sentence for murder comprising a minimum term of twelve years imprisonment and an additional term of four years. The judge sentenced both the applicant and his stepbrother, Lulham, a co-accused, but on different occasions and on somewhat different materials leading to different findings being made in the two cases on factual matters.

3 The applicant's family, comprising himself, his mother and his elder stepbrother, resided in the small and closely knit community of Beechwood, west of Wauchope on the mid-North Coast. For some time the applicant and Lulham had cherished grievances against the deceased, another resident of that community. In the applicant's case the judge found that Lulham was ten years older than the applicant and able to exercise considerable influence over the applicant.