Director of Public Prosecutions v Maxfield

[2014] VCC 911

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT WODONGA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-12-01895

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SHEREE MAXFIELD

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT
WHERE HELD:	Wodonga
DATE OF HEARING:	19 July 2013, 22 October 2013, 30 May 2014
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 June 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Maxfield
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 911

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms N. Burnett

For the Accused Ms D. McCann

HIS HONOUR:

1Sheree Maxfield, you pleaded guilty to an offence of intentionally causing serious injury.  That is a very serious offence indeed and the circumstances were such that there was no provocation that could possibly justify your conduct on this particular night.  You were fortunate indeed that you did not kill your victim.  The offence is one which ordinarily would demand a term of immediate imprisonment, and a substantial term at that.

2The prosecution has also relied upon a victim impact statement which is dated 16 October 2013.  That indicates that not only were there serious physical injuries, but there will no doubt be an emotional overlay of your offending conduct for a very considerable period, and probably for the victim's life.  All of that has to be taken into consideration.

3Turning to matters personal to you I have been supplied with recent reports from the Department of Human Services and from Forensicare, and previously I also obtained a report dated 19 September 2013 from the Department of Justice, with a view to considering whether you were a suitable candidate for a Community Corrections Order.

4I am not, in the circumstances, going to go into detail about your past life.  You clearly do have a mild intellectual disability.  It seems to me that the Verdins principles are engaged.  They do not reduce your moral culpability to zero by any means, however they do moderate your moral culpability, and looking at the other Verdins considerations as they are dealt with in the Forensicare report, including the difficulty you would have in serving a term of imprisonment with your disability and psychological profile, and given the fact that you have had a very difficult background, it seems to me that the community can be served by imposing a Community Corrections Order which is designed to help you to a point where what is assessed as a moderate risk, presently a low risk but some moderate risk in the medium to longer term of you reoffending, is reduced.  In those circumstances, and given your family situation, it seems to me that that can be appropriately achieved by imposing a Community Corrections Order.

5The facts of this case need to be assessed in the light of all the background features that are spoken to in the reports to which I have identified and referred.   Although it may well be that an objective view of the bare facts would suggest that imposing a Community Corrections Order is an unduly leaning course it seems to me that, taking everything together, the community can be and should be best served in the way that I have indicated.

6The order that I propose is for a period of 12 months and it would involve a condition, in addition to the standard condition, that you be subject to Supervision by a Community Corrections Officer for the period of a year that the order is in force, that you must undergo mental health assessment and treatment including but not limited to mental health, psychological, neuropsychological and psychiatric in a hospital or residential facility if necessary as directed by the regional manager, and comply with the Justice Plan, a copy of which I have been supplied.

7The important question that you have to consider is this, if you are in breach of this order during the period of the 12 months that it is in force then merely for being in breach of the order you could be up for a period of three months' imprisonmen.   Also you would be brought back to this court, probably before me and would be eligible to be re-sentenced for this offence.

8If you fail to comply with the terms of the order in any way, in particular if you commit any offence punishable by imprisonment during the period of 12 months in which the order is in force then you would be in breach and that would require you to be brought back to the court for re-sentencing on this matter.

9So you could be up for, potentially, if you commit another offence in the next 12 months, a period of three months for the fact that that puts you in breach of the Community Corrections Order.   Also you would be up for a sentence for that offence, and you would be up for being sentenced again for this offence. If you were to be sentenced for this offence it would be very likely that you would serve a significant term of imprisonment.

10MS BURNETT:  Your Honour might I just query is that with conviction?  The disposition?

11HIS HONOUR:  It certainly will be yes.

12MS BURNETT:  And is Your Honour proposing to order any unpaid community work?

13HIS HONOUR:  I'm not proposing to order any unpaid community work.

14MS BURNETT:  Thank you Your Honour.  There's just the matters of the disposal order and the s.464 order.

15HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Look I don't have copies of those orders, I don't know whether they have been sent to the court?

16MS BURNETT:  They were emailed to Your Honour's associate ‑ ‑ ‑ 

17HIS HONOUR:  Were they?  We don't ‑ ‑ ‑ 

18MS BURNETT:  ‑ ‑ ‑ over the lunch time break.

19HIS HONOUR:  Yes he - I don't think he's got them yet but maybe they are somewhere in the ether.

20MS BURNETT:  They were emailed over luncheon and also earlier today Your Honour.

21HIS HONOUR:  I see my associate searching his emails and it may be that he'll find it in a second, but anyway he'll be in contact with you and I understand that there's no objection to those orders bring made?

22MS BURNETT:  There isn't, no.

23HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  So it's for retention of forensic sample is that right?

24MS BURNETT:  No it's for the taking of a forensic sample Your Honour.

25HIS HONOUR:  Taking of a forensic sample, all right.  And?

26MS BURNETT:  And disposal of the knives.

27HIS HONOUR:  And disposal of the knife, thank you, yes.  Well I shall make those orders.  All right now Ms Maxfield do you consent to a Community Corrections Order in the terms that I've indicated?

28OFFENDER:  Yes Your Honour.

29HIS HONOUR:  I can't hear you.

30MS BURNETT:  She's just coming to the microphone.

31OFFENDER:  Yes Your Honour I do.

32HIS HONOUR:  You do.  Are you still living at 18 McCann Crescent Kerang?

33OFFENDER:  Um no I'm at 12 Hawthorn Kerang.  In a transit ‑ ‑ ‑ 

34HIS HONOUR:  I'm sorry 12?

35OFFENDER:  Hawthorn.

36HIS HONOUR:  Hawthorn.  H-a-w-t-h-o-r-n?  Is that right?

37OFFENDER:  E - yep.

38HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

39OFFENDER:  E on the end.

40HIS HONOUR:  And e on the end?  Okay.  Hawthorne Road or crescent or what is it?

41OFFENDER:  Um a street.

42HIS HONOUR:  A street.  Hawthorne Street Kerang, is that right?

43OFFENDER:  Oh sorry it's court.

44HIS HONOUR:  Court is it?

45OFFENDER:  Hawthorne Court.

46HIS HONOUR:  Hawthorne Court.  Is it Kerang East?

47OFFENDER:  Um no um north.

48HIS HONOUR:  Kerang North is it?  Is that 3579?

49OFFENDER:  It's just Kerang yeah.

50HIS HONOUR:  Kerang is it, all right.

51MS MCCANN:  I don't know the postcode's 3579.

52HIS HONOUR:  Is it 3579?

53MS MCCANN:  Yes, yes it is.

54HIS HONOUR:  All right well I - given that you have consented to that order I convict you and I sentence you for the offence to a Community Corrections Order for a period of 12 months in the terms that I have indicated.  That will be faxed to you in due course and you will be required to consider it and if you approve of the terms of it sign it and then the order will be in place once you've signed it and I've signed it.  Do you understand?

55OFFENDER:  Yes I understand.

56HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Now Mr Travers how is this going to work?

57ASSOCIATE:  (Indistinct).

58HIS HONOUR:  Yes then they'll sign the paper and I'll sign it, yes all right.  Yes well it'll be done through my associate and the staff in court and your client will have to wait there Ms McCann until ‑ ‑ ‑ 

59MS MCCANN:  Yes well ‑ ‑ ‑ 

60HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ the document arrives.

61MS MCCANN:  ‑ ‑ ‑ I'll wait with her.

62HIS HONOUR:  All right?

63MS MCCANN:  Yes.

64HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

65MS MCCANN:  We'll wait together and I'll explain to her the document when it arrives Your Honour.

66HIS HONOUR:  Ms Maxfield I am also going to make an order for you to provide a forensic sample which would be a scraping from the inside of your mouth.  You will be required to report to the police station at Kerang and that will be shown in the order, a copy of which you will receive, but you will be required to report to the police there within a specified period and it will require you to submit to the taking of a scraping from the inside of your mouth.

67If you provide that then there will not be any trouble but if you refuse or fail to provide the sample by the scraping of the inside of your mouth that officer will be authorised to obtain a blood sample from you and may use reasonable force to obtain that.  Do you understand?

68OFFENDER:  Yes I understand Your Honour.

69HIS HONOUR:  So I'm sure you won't give him any trouble?

70OFFENDER:  No not at all.

71HIS HONOUR:  All right good.  And I make the disposal order in respect of the knife that is sought as well, yes.

72OFFENDER:  Thank you Your Honour.

73HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  But for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to a period of three years imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years.  All right well I'll rise temporarily and those documents or that document will be sent through.  Thank you.

74MS MCCANN:  Please the court.

75OFFENDER:  Thank you Your Honour.

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