Regina v Woolery [2002] NSWCCA 299

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : Regina v Woolery [2002] NSWCCA 299 FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60614/01 HEARING DATE(S) : 18 July 2002 JUDGMENT DATE : 18 July 2002

PARTIES : Terryl Lance-Joseph Woolery (Applicant) The Crown (Respondent) JUDGMENT OF : Stein JA at 1; Greg James J at 23; Howie J at 24

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : DC 01/11/0407 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL Freeman DCJ OFFICER :

COUNSEL : P R Boulton (Applicant) J Krippner (Respondent) SOLICITORS : Legal Aid Commission of NSW (Applicant) Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Respondent) CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - importation of a commercial quantity of ecstasy - whether trial judge failed to properly characterise the applicant's criminality - whether trial judge undervalued the applicant's plea of guilty - appeal against sentence LEGISLATION CITED : Customs Act 1901 (Cth) R v Thomson and Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 CASES CITED: R v Wong and Leung (2001) 185 ALR 231 The Queen v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270 DECISION : 1) Leave to appeal granted 2) Appeal against sentence dismissed

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL 60614/01

STEIN JA GREG JAMES J HOWIE J

Thursday, 16 July 2002 Regina v Terryl Lance-Joseph WOOLERY Judgment 1 STEIN JA: The applicant, Terryl Lance-Joseph Woolery, seeks leave to appeal against a sentence imposed on him by Freeman DCJ in the District Court on 29 June 2001. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 7 ½ years with a non-parole period of 4 ½ years, each to date from his arrest on 17 November 2000. 2 The applicant had pleaded guilty to one count under s 233B(1)(b) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) by the importation of a commercial quantity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in powder form (commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA). The quantity (1570.2 grams) is in excess of three times the commercial quantity specified under the Customs Act. The powder, which was strapped to the applicant's body when he was apprehended at Sydney airport on 17 November 2000, was calculated as being capable of producing 14,900 tablets of 30% purity with a potential street value of $745,000. 3 The applicant readily admitted that the packages contained ecstasy, and that he had obtained them in Amsterdam. He told Federal police that he was given money for his air ticket and told that he would be paid US$10,000 for delivering the drug in Australia. 4 The applicant pleaded guilty before the Local Court on 7 May 2001 and adhered to his plea before Judge Freeman on 29 June 2001. The Crown accepts that the applicant entered the plea of guilty at the earliest practical opportunity. 5 There are two grounds of appeal. First, that his Honour failed to properly characterise the applicant's criminality. Second, that his Honour undervalued the applicant's plea of guilty.