Forster-Jones v The Queen

The appeal concerned a sentence imposed on the applicant, Forster-Jones, by a sentencing judge. The Crown conceded that an error had occurred in the sentencing process, leading to the appeal. The matter was heard by Murrell CJ, Crowe and Berman AJJ.

The central legal issue before the appellate court was whether the sentencing judge had failed to properly assess the objective seriousness of the offence. This failure, conceded by the Crown, formed the basis of the appeal against the sentence.

The court reasoned that a proper assessment of objective seriousness is a fundamental component of sentencing. By failing to undertake this assessment, the sentencing judge had erred. Consequently, the appellate court was required to resentence the applicant, taking into account all relevant factors and applying the correct legal principles. The court made orders accordingly.