Farquhar v The State of Western Australia

The case of Farquhar v The State of Western Australia dealt with issues of sentencing parity in relation to criminal law. The appellant, who had committed the same offences as a co-offender, was sentenced under the current sentencing regime to a total of 5 years imprisonment, whereas the co-offender, who was sentenced under the previous regime, received a total sentence of 5 years and 6 months. The appellant argued that the disparity in their sentences was unjust and sought to have his sentence adjusted to ensure he did not spend more time in prison than his co-offender.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the appellant's sentence should be adjusted to ensure parity with the co-offender's sentence. The court needed to consider the principle of parity in sentencing, which aims to ensure that similarly situated offenders receive similar sentences, and whether this principle applies to cases where co-offenders are sentenced under different regimes. The court also had to consider whether the appellant's eligibility for parole should be aligned with that of his co-offender.

The court found that the appellant's sentence should indeed be adjusted to ensure parity with his co-offender's sentence. The court emphasised the importance of the principle of parity in sentencing and noted that the appellant's co-offender, who was sentenced under the previous regime, was eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, whereas the appellant was not eligible for parole until he had served one-half of his sentence. The court held that this disparity was unjust and that the appellant's sentence should be reduced to ensure that he did not spend more time in prison than his co-offender. The court allowed the appeal and resentenced the appellant accordingly.

The court granted leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, and resentenced the appellant to a term that ensured parity with his co-offender. The exact details of the resentencing were not specified in the text provided.