R v Paton [2014] NSWSC 71

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Paton [2014] NSWSC 71 Hearing dates: 7 February 2014 Decision date: 14 February 2014 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Button J Decision: Sentenced to imprisonment for 19 years to date from 10 November 2011 and expire on 9 November 2030, comprising a non-parole period of 14 years 3 months, followed by a balance of the term of sentence of 4 years 9 months. The first date upon which the offender will be eligible for release to parole is 9 February 2026. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - remarks on sentence - plea of not guilty - offender convicted of murder - accessory - little active role but aware for some hours that the offence was to occur - dispute as to facts on sentence - reliability of key witness - offender on parole at time of offence - sentence imposed Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 s21A Cases Cited: Barbaro v The Queen; Zirilli v The Queen [2014] HCA 2 R v Isaacs (1997) 41 NSWLR 374; (1997) 90 A Crim R 587 R v Kearnes (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 1652 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina Christopher John Paton Representation: Counsel: B Hughes SC (Crown) E Wilson SC (Defendant) Solicitors: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) Pogson Cronin (Defendant) File Number(s): 2011/359425

Judgment 1On 21 October 2013, Christopher John Paton (to whom I shall usually refer as "the offender" in these remarks on sentence) was arraigned in the Supreme Court at Albury before a jury panel and me. The indictment contained a single count of murder. The issue between the Crown and the offender in the trial was a circumscribed one. The Crown alleged that the offender had been criminally involved in the murder by shooting of Mr Semin Rizvic (to whom I shall usually refer as "the deceased" in these remarks) before or during its occurrence. The position of the offender was that he was merely an accessory after the fact to that murder. By way of its verdict of guilty delivered on 4 November 2013, the jury determined that issue in favour of the Crown. 2The maximum penalty for the offence of murder in New South Wales is imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole. In the circumstances of this case, there is also an applicable standard non-parole period of 20 years. I have borne those two important guideposts firmly in mind. The Crown Prosecutor has not submitted that this is a case that should lead to the imposition of the maximum penalty. Nor do I consider that the imposition of such a penalty is appropriate in this case.