poledriver
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Drug Dealing Does Not Necessarily Warrant Imprisonment
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim
Last week, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (NSWCCA) determined that a precedent followed by the state’s courts had become a “judicially imposed constraint”.
That rule stated that a person convicted of a substantial drug supply must be sentenced to full time imprisonment unless there were ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Over recent years, former senior law enforcement and law officials, as well as a number of politicians, have been calling for less punitive measures when dealing with the personal possession of illicit substances.
Now, it seems members of the NSW judiciary are reasoning that harsh penalties meted out to people on drug charges are failing to achieve the objective of general deterrence, and moreover are not necessarily called for by the law. But this time, it’s on the supply side.
A relic of the past
The rule regarding imprisonment in the absence of exceptional circumstances was espoused in the 1990 NSWCCA judgement of R v Clark, delivered by Justice Hunt.
But on 23 August this year, Justice Simpson of the same court found that the approach is not consistent with section 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 which states:
“A court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate.”
Her Honour ruled it is open for a judge to impose a non-custodial sentence for a significant drug supply, despite the absence of exceptional circumstances.
An early morning bust
Liam Robertson was only 19-years-old, when NSW police officers spotted him sitting in a car parked in a street in Kellyville at around 4.20 am on 10 June last year. The young man was in possession of a small bag containing cannabis, and a large bong. There were two other males sitting in the vehicle.
On searching the car, officers found a small safe containing a number of drugs including, 23.36 grams of MDMA, and 19.9 grams of psilocin: the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms.
Due to the quantities of drugs found, it was deemed Mr Robertson had them in his possession for the purpose of supply.
At the police station, officers took possession of the young man’s mobile phone. Text messages suggested that Robertson had twice agreed to supply others with small quantities of psilocin between the dates of 30 May and 4 June.
He was charged with four counts of supply of prohibited drugs under section 25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. The quantity meant he was facing maximum penalties of 15 years imprisonment.
Robertson entered guilty pleas to all four charges in the local court, and the matter was committed for sentencing in the District Court.
A low risk of reoffending
On 4 April this year, Robertson appeared in court for sentencing.
It was heard the young man came from a stable family environment and had no prior convictions.
At the time of his arrest, Robertson was a process worker in a medical manufacturing company.
The young man began using drugs in his teens, as alcohol didn’t agree with him. He became involved in the supply side, after he started buying in bulk for personal use to save money. He’d since sold to friends and acquaintances.
His father gave evidence the teenager had turned his life around since arrest. He had stopped using drugs and complied with his bail conditions, which included a curfew. A psychologist gave an opinion that he had good prospects of rehabilitation.
Cont -
https://nswcourts.com.au/articles/drug-dealing-does-not-necessarily-warrant-imprisonment/
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim
Last week, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (NSWCCA) determined that a precedent followed by the state’s courts had become a “judicially imposed constraint”.
That rule stated that a person convicted of a substantial drug supply must be sentenced to full time imprisonment unless there were ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Over recent years, former senior law enforcement and law officials, as well as a number of politicians, have been calling for less punitive measures when dealing with the personal possession of illicit substances.
Now, it seems members of the NSW judiciary are reasoning that harsh penalties meted out to people on drug charges are failing to achieve the objective of general deterrence, and moreover are not necessarily called for by the law. But this time, it’s on the supply side.
A relic of the past
The rule regarding imprisonment in the absence of exceptional circumstances was espoused in the 1990 NSWCCA judgement of R v Clark, delivered by Justice Hunt.
But on 23 August this year, Justice Simpson of the same court found that the approach is not consistent with section 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 which states:
“A court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate.”
Her Honour ruled it is open for a judge to impose a non-custodial sentence for a significant drug supply, despite the absence of exceptional circumstances.
An early morning bust
Liam Robertson was only 19-years-old, when NSW police officers spotted him sitting in a car parked in a street in Kellyville at around 4.20 am on 10 June last year. The young man was in possession of a small bag containing cannabis, and a large bong. There were two other males sitting in the vehicle.
On searching the car, officers found a small safe containing a number of drugs including, 23.36 grams of MDMA, and 19.9 grams of psilocin: the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms.
Due to the quantities of drugs found, it was deemed Mr Robertson had them in his possession for the purpose of supply.
At the police station, officers took possession of the young man’s mobile phone. Text messages suggested that Robertson had twice agreed to supply others with small quantities of psilocin between the dates of 30 May and 4 June.
He was charged with four counts of supply of prohibited drugs under section 25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. The quantity meant he was facing maximum penalties of 15 years imprisonment.
Robertson entered guilty pleas to all four charges in the local court, and the matter was committed for sentencing in the District Court.
A low risk of reoffending
On 4 April this year, Robertson appeared in court for sentencing.
It was heard the young man came from a stable family environment and had no prior convictions.
At the time of his arrest, Robertson was a process worker in a medical manufacturing company.
The young man began using drugs in his teens, as alcohol didn’t agree with him. He became involved in the supply side, after he started buying in bulk for personal use to save money. He’d since sold to friends and acquaintances.
His father gave evidence the teenager had turned his life around since arrest. He had stopped using drugs and complied with his bail conditions, which included a curfew. A psychologist gave an opinion that he had good prospects of rehabilitation.
Cont -
https://nswcourts.com.au/articles/drug-dealing-does-not-necessarily-warrant-imprisonment/
