Christie v R [2012] NSWCCA 228

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Christie v R [2012] NSWCCA 228 Hearing dates: 12 October 2012 Decision date: 01 November 2012 Before: Hoeben JA at [1] Johnson J at [2] Beech-Jones J at [3] Decision: (1) Leave to appeal be granted. (2) Appeal allowed. (3) Set aside each of the sentences imposed by the District Court on 11.03.11 and, in lieu thereof, sentence the applicant as follows: (a) for the offence under s 38 of the Crimes Act 1900 to a fixed term of imprisonment of 5 years commencing 11.02.10 and expiring 10.02.15; (b) for the offence under s 61J(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 comprising count 4 on the indictment to a term of imprisonment comprised of a non-parole period of 6 years commencing 11.02.12 and expiring 10.02.18 with a balance of term of 2 years commencing 11.02.18 and expiring on 10.02.20; (c) for the offence under s 61J(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 comprising count 2 on the indictment to a term of imprisonment comprised of a non-parole period of 5 years commencing 11.02.13 and expiring 10.02.18 with a balance of term of 3 years commencing 11.02.18 and expiring on 10.02.21. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - sentencing - application for leave to appeal - administering an intoxicating substance - aggravated sexual intercourse without consent - taking into account a fact not found beyond reasonable doubt - whether Muldrock error - whether instinctive synthesis approach adopted - whether manifestly excessive - cumulation and concurrency of sentences for offences arising out of a single incident. Legislation Cited: - Crimes Act 1900 - s 38, s 61J - Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 - Div 1A Pt 4, s 44(2) - Criminal Appeal Act 1912 - s 6(3) Cases Cited: - Butler v R [2012] NSWCCA 23 - Markarian v R [2005] HCA 25; 228 CLR 357 - Muldrock v R [2011] HCA 39; 244 CLR 120 - R v Muldrock [2010] NSWCCA 106 - R v Street [2005] NSWCCA 139 - R v Way [2004] NSWCCA 131; 60 NSWLR 168 - Ruttley v R [2010] NSWCCA 118 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Nicholas Michael Joseph Christie (Applicant) Crown (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Ms C.A. Davenport SC (Applicant) Mr E. Balodis (Respondent) Solicitors: Australian Criminal Law Specialists Pty Ltd (Applicant) Legal Aid NSW (Respondent) File Number(s): 2009/039737 Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9101 Date of Decision: 2011-03-11 00:00:00 Before: Sorby DCJ