Coles v Tasmania

Coles appealed against a sentence imposed by the Supreme Court of Tasmania following his conviction on two counts of attempted wounding and two counts of aggravated assault, all stemming from a single incident involving the use of a firearm.

The central legal issue before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania was whether the original sentence of 6½ years' imprisonment was manifestly excessive, thereby justifying interference on appeal.

The Court reasoned that the sentencing judge had erred by failing to properly characterise the totality of the appellant's criminal conduct. While acknowledging the seriousness of the offences, the Full Court determined that the original sentence did not adequately reflect the broad and reasonable characterisation of the criminal conduct. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the original sentence was set aside, and the appellant was resentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years.