DPP v JA & Ors - [2023] VSC 531

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Unrestricted

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

S ECR 2022 0257; 0259; 0263

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

JA & ORS

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JUDGE:	HOLLINGWORTH J
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	22 August 2023
DATE OF SENTENCE:	12 September 2023
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v JA & Ors
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VSC 531

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CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence – Murder – Manslaughter – Intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence – Frenzied group attack on unarmed victim with multiple knives – Accused aged 14 and 16 at the time of offending – Sentencing principles for children – Guilty pleas – Remorse – No prior convictions – Rehabilitation prospects.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Ms K Churchill with Mr J Manning	Ms A Hogan, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions
For AM	Mr P Smallwood with Mr M Weinman	Greg Thomas Barrister and Solicitor
For JA	Mr B Johnston with Mr L Cameron	Slades & Parsons
For MM	Mr M Kozlowski	Unite Legal

HER HONOUR:

Each of you has pleaded guilty to a different offence, arising out of your involvement in a violent attack on Declan Cutler in March 2022. AM has pleaded guilty to murder. JA has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. MM has pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence. Four other young people are awaiting trial for Declan’s murder; one other child is awaiting a judicial decision as to whether they can be tried for Declan’s murder.

During the afternoon and evening of Saturday 12 March, you and your co-accused spent time together, hanging around at various locations in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The group used a stolen Mazda to pick each other up and drive around.

Some of your co-accused were affiliated with a youth group known as “the 9iners”, which was based in the western suburbs. There were simmering tensions between the 9iners and a rival youth group, known as “H-town”, which was based in Heidelberg.

That Saturday night, Declan attended a birthday party at a house in Reservoir, with his friends TH and KH. TH was affiliated with H-town, and was in conflict with some young people from the western suburbs. Declan had no known connection to H-town. Also at the party was an associate of the 9iners, a girl called H.

After midnight, arrangements were made for someone in your group, nicknamed “Hoozie”, to go and pick up H from the party. By around 1:40am, all eight members of your group had been picked up in the Mazda and left the Tarneit area, driving towards Reservoir. Someone in the group searched for the address of the party on their phone.

As the night went on, H became increasingly vocal at the party about the fact that Hoozie was coming to pick her up. Around 1:53am, H recorded on her phone a conversation with TH, in which she asked, “Since when were you beefing with the 9iners?” TH replied, “Fuck the…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading DPP v JA & Ors

Details

AGLC: Director of Public Prosecutions v JA [2023] VSC 531
Case: [2023] VSC 531
Decision Date: 12 September 2023

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved the Director of Public Prosecutions and four young defendants charged with various offences including murder and manslaughter. The defendants, aged 14 and 16 at the time of the offence, were involved in a frenzied attack on an unarmed victim using multiple knives, resulting in the victim's death. The legal issues before the court included the appropriate sentencing principles to apply, particularly considering the defendants' ages, their guilty pleas, the remorse they displayed, the absence of prior convictions, and their prospects for rehabilitation.

The court was required to determine the appropriate sentences for the defendants, taking into account the gravity of the crime and the specific circumstances surrounding the attack. The court considered the sentencing principles applicable to children under the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act, which prioritise rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The court also examined the mitigating factors presented, such as the defendants' ages, their guilty pleas, and the remorse they exhibited. Additionally, the court considered the defendants' prospects for rehabilitation and reintegration into society, as well as the need for deterrence and denunciation.

The court concluded that while the offence was heinous and involved a frenzied group attack with gross violence, the defendants' ages and the mitigating factors warranted consideration of lesser sentences. The court recognised the defendants' remorse and the fact that they had no prior convictions, which were significant mitigating factors. The court ultimately determined that the defendants should be sentenced to terms of detention with a focus on rehabilitation. The sentences imposed reflected the court's consideration of the defendants' ages, the mitigating factors, and the need to balance justice with the rehabilitative needs of the young offenders. The court's decision was informed by the principles of sentencing for children, which prioritise rehabilitation and the potential for the defendants to reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens.

Orders