Ferris v The Queen

Ferris was appealing against his sentence for acting as an accessory after the fact to a manslaughter committed by the principal offender, and for an unrelated charge of assault causing death. The High Court of Australia heard the appeal against the sentence. The court was required to determine whether the starting point for the indicative non-parole period for the accessory offence was excessive and if the disparity between Ferris's sentence and the principal offender's sentence for assault causing death was unjust.

The High Court found that the starting point for the accessory offence was not excessive as the manslaughter was a serious example of a serious offence, and the case was neutral in terms of subjective circumstances. The court also found that the disparity between Ferris's sentence and the principal offender's sentence was not a legitimate ground for appeal because the principal offender's sentence was inadequate. The appeal was dismissed by the court, upholding the original sentence.