Palmer v R [2018] NSWCCA 205

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Palmer v R [2018] NSWCCA 205 Hearing dates: 10 September 2018 Decision date: 21 September 2018 Before: Basten JA at [1]; McCallum J at [74]; Bellew J at [75] Decision: (1) With respect to ground 2, refuse the appellant leave to appeal pursuant to the Criminal Appeal Rules, r 4.

(2) With respect to ground 1, grant the appellant leave to appeal.

(3) Dismiss the appeal.

(4) Vary the sentence imposed in the District Court so that it provides:

(a) With respect to count 2 on the indictment, sentence the offender to a term of imprisonment for 3 years, comprising a non-parole period of 18 months to commence from the date of these orders or such later date on which the appellant is first taken into custody, together with a balance of term of 18 months. (b) Note that, either pursuant to the direction given by the trial judge pursuant to s 50(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), or pursuant to s 158 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW), the offender is entitled to be released at the expiration of the non-parole period to serve the remainder of his sentence on parole. (c) Note further that the earliest release date pursuant to this sentence is 20 March 2020 or the date 18 months from the date the offender is taken into custody, if that be not the date of the orders. Catchwords: CRIME – conviction appeal – unreasonable verdicts – whether conviction inconsistent with acquittal on another count – whether rational basis upon which jury could distinguish counts – relevance of disproportion between time taken for trial and time jury reserved – relevance of trial judge's assessment of verdict