Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales v Shane Francis Dowling [2018] NSWSC 1301

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales v Shane Francis Dowling [2018] NSWSC 1301 Hearing dates: 17 August 2018 Decision date: 22 August 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Wilson J Decision: (1) Shane Francis Dowling is convicted of three counts of contempt of the Supreme Court of NSW. (2) Pursuant to s 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 he is sentenced to a term of 18 months imprisonment, to date from 22 August 2018 and expiring on 21 February 2020. I fix a non-parole period of 13 months, expiring on 21 September 2019. (3) The indicative sentences are: (a) Count 1: 9 months imprisonment (b) Count 2: 9 months imprisonment (c) Count 3: 9 months imprisonment Catchwords: COMMON LAW – contempt of court – sentence – scurrilous conduct in the face of the court – deliberate breaches of court orders by publication of material the subject of non-publication orders – material published on a website – offending material remains on website following prosecution and finding of guilt – contemnor claims a right to publish material because of asserted "invalidity" of non-publication orders – claimed right to publish material as "political communication" - prior convictions for contempt of court – limited subjective case – no remorse or contrition – need for specific deterrence - importance of principle of general deterrence – importance of denunciation Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 Cases Cited: Capilano Honey Ltd v Dowling [2018] NSWSC 876 Director of Public Prosecutions v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (1987) 8 NSWLR 732 Doe v Dowling [2017] NSWSC 1037 Doe v Dowling [2017] NSWSC 202 In the Matter of Steven Smith (No. 2) [2015] NSWSC 1141 Munsie v Dowling [2014] NSWSC 962 Munsie v Shane Dowling (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1042 Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales v Dowling [2017] NSWSC 664 Prothonotary v Wilson [1999] NSWSC 1148 R v Dent [2016] NSWSC 444 Wood v Staunton (No 5) (1996) 86 A Crim R 183 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Plaintiff – Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Defendant – Shane Francis Dowling Representation: Counsel: Plaintiff – Mr D Kell SC, Crown Advocate Defendant – Mr Shane Dowling in person, unrepresented