Ahmad v R [2012] NSWCCA 273

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Ahmad v R [2012] NSWCCA 273 Hearing dates: 4 October 2012 Decision date: 14 December 2012 Before: McClellan CJ at CL at [1] Rothman J at [2] Adamson J at [3] Decision: (1) Grant leave to appeal. (2) Order that the appeal be dismissed. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - appeal against sentence - drugs offences - whether sentencing judge failed to pay adequate regard to subjective circumstances - whether repetitive conduct in one count taken into account in aggravation of another count - whether sentence manifestly excessive Legislation Cited: - Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 Cases Cited: - Pearce v R [1998] HCA 57; 194 CLR 610 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Maria Ahmad (Applicant) Regina (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: R Webb (Applicant) N Bruni (Respondent) Solicitors: Elias Tabchouri Lawyers (Applicant) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Respondent) File Number(s): 2010/152118 Publication restriction: None Decision under appeal Citation: R v Ahmed [2011] NSWDC 210 Date of Decision: 2011-09-30 00:00:00 Before: Berman SC DCJ File Number(s): 2010/152118

Judgment 1McCLELLAN CJ at CL: I agree with Adamson J. 2ROTHMAN J: I agree with Adamson J. 3ADAMSON J: This is an application for leave to appeal the sentence imposed upon Maria Ahmad, the applicant, by Berman DCJ in the District Court of New South Wales. 4The applicant pleaded guilty to: (1)One charge of supplying a prohibited drug, methylamphetamine, on three separate occasions between 8 May 2010 and 17 May 2010 contrary to s 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (the Act); (2)One charge of supplying a prohibited drug, namely cannabis, on 19 May 2010, 30.7 g, contrary to s 25 of the Act; and (3)One charge of supplying a prohibited drug, namely methylamphetamine between 23 April 2010 and 12 June 2010 (21 g over 49 separate transactions), contrary to s 25 of the Act. 5The following Form 1 offences were also taken into account: (1) Possess equipment for administering prohibited drug; (2) Possess prohibited drug (41 g cannabis leaf); (3) Possess prohibited drug (3.27 g methylamphetamine); (4)Possess prohibited drug (4 cannabis seeds); and (5)Exposing child to drug premises. 6The applicant pleaded guilty in the Local Court and was given a 25% discount. 7The applicant was sentenced to a total sentence of imprisonment for 4 years with an effective non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months. 8The sentence was structured as follows, with the sentence for count 2 being wholly concurrent with the sentence for count 1 and the sentence for count 3 partially accumulating. Offence Sentence Period Maximum penalty for offence Count 1 (s 25A methylamphetamine; including Form 1 matters) Term 5 Aug 2011- 4 Aug 2014 Imprisonment for 20 years 3 years Non-parole period 5 Aug 2011- 4 Feb 2013 18 months Count 2 (s 25 supply cannabis) Term 5 Aug 2011-4 Aug 2012 Imprisonment for 10 years 1 year Non-parole period N/A Count 3 (s 25 supply methylamphetamine) Term 5 Aug 2012- 4 Aug 2015 Imprisonment for 15 years 3 years Non-parole period 5 Aug 2012- 4 February 2014 18 months Cumulative Term 5 Aug 2011- 4 Aug 2015 4 years Non-parole period 5 Aug 2011- 4 Feb 2014 2 years 6 months