HUGHES, Jenna Lee v R [2014] NSWCCA 15

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: HUGHES, Jenna Lee v R [2014] NSWCCA 15 Hearing dates: 9 December 2013 Decision date: 24 February 2014 Before: Hoeben CJ at CL at [1]; Simpson J at [2]; Hall J at [58] Decision: (1) Leave to appeal granted (2) Appeal dismissed Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - sentence appeal - two counts of misconduct in public office - two counts of giving false evidence to Police Integrity Commission pursuant to s 107(1) of the Police Integrity Commission Act 1996 - applicant's offending related to her employment as a police officer - applicant accessed police database on numerous occasions without authority - accesses related to associates of the applicant - applicant advised associates of the results of her accesses - applicant created false intelligence reports in order to mask her unauthorised accesses - applicant failed to advise police of admissions made to her by her associates in respect of their involvement in stealing a vehicle - at sentence hearing applicant gave evidence in relation to the order of search terms used by her in unauthorised accesses which was contradicted by other independent evidence - sentencing judge satisfied beyond reasonable doubt applicant deliberately lied - at sentence hearing Crown did not oppose imposition of an Intensive Correction Order - sentencing judge not bound by any Crown concessions and retains overriding obligation to impose sentence that reflects overall criminality of the offending - sentencing judge gave careful consideration to the relevant objective and subjective circumstances of the offending in respect of each count - alleged failure by sentencing judge to take into account likelihood applicant would serve sentence in protective custody - conditions of custody not considered at sentence hearing with no evidence led by applicant in that respect - no basis for granting of leave to adduce fresh evidence as to applicant's condition of custody - alleged failure to properly take into account applicant's mental health issues - sentencing judge noted applicant's mental health issues contributed to commission of the offences - applicant had full appreciation of the seriousness of her conduct thereby reducing weight given to her mental health issues - appeal dismissed Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Police Integrity Commission Act 1996 Cases Cited: Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa [2010] NSWCCA 194; 79 NSWLR 1 R v LP [2010] NSWCCA 154 R v Paris [2001] NSWCCA 83 R v Way (2004) 60 NSWLR 168 R v Wright (1997) 93 A Crim R 48 RWB v R (2010) 202 A Crim R 209 Thewlis v R [2008] NSWCCA 176 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Jenna Lee Hughes (Applicant) Regina (Crown) Representation: Counsel: I McLachlan (Applicant) V Lydiard (Crown) Solicitors: Legal Aid NSW (Applicant) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) File Number(s): 2011/284571; 2011/380253; 2012/63378 Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9101 Date of Decision: 2013-03-28 00:00:00 Before: Marien DCJ File Number(s): 2011/284571; 2011/380253; 2012/63378