Hala v The King - [2024] NSWCCA 146

Court of Criminal Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hala v R [2024] NSWCCA 146
Hearing dates: 15 July 2024
Date of orders: 9 August 2024
Decision date: 09 August 2024
Before: Harrison CJ at CL at [1]
Dhanji J at [2]
Sweeney J at [3]
Decision:
1. Grant leave to appeal.
2. Allow the appeal.
3. Quash the sentence imposed by Judge Grant on 6 June 2023.
4. In lieu thereof the applicant is sentenced as follows:
(a) Applying the 25% discount for the pleas of guilty to the indicative sentences, the indicative sentences are:
(i) For the proceeds of crime offence, taking into account the two offences on the Form 1, 6 months imprisonment.
(ii) For the assault of the police officer occasioning actual bodily harm, 18 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 6 months.
For those offences I impose an aggregate sentence of 21 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 6 months imprisonment, commencing on 10 September 2023, the non-parole period expiring on 9 March 2024.
(b) For the offence of escaping lawful custody I impose a sentence of 6 months imprisonment commencing on 10 March 2024, expiring on 9 September 2024.
(c) The total sentence will expire on 9 June 2025. The applicant is to be released to parole on 9 September 2024.

Catchwords:
CRIME — Appeals — Appeal against sentence — Re-sentence — Commencement date of sentence

Legislation Cited:
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act1999 (NSW)

Cases Cited:
Kentwell v The Queen (2014) 252 CLR 601; [2014] HCA 37
White v R [2016] NSWCCA 190

Texts Cited:
Nil

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Lopeti Hala (Appellant)
Rex (Crown) (Respondent)
Representation:
Counsel:
S Howell with H Skinner (Appellant)
E Wilkins SC (Respondent)
Solicitors:
David Davidge Solicitor (Appellant)
Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (NSW)(Respondent)

File Number(s): 2022/085105
Publication restriction: Nil
Decision under appeal

Court or tribunal:

District Court

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Date of Decision:

06 June 2023

Before:

Grant DCJ

File Number(s):

2022/086131; 2022/085105

JUDGMENT

HARRISON CJ AT CL: I agree with Sweeney J.
DHANJI J: I agree with the orders proposed by Sweeney J and with her Honour’s reasons. As those reasons explain, the outcome in this matter is the result of a difficult combination of factors extending beyond the circumstances of the offence and the offender. Those factors extend to the unusual timeline over which the various offences were committed and then dealt with; the constraints on this Court in dealing with an offender’s appeal; and the errors in sentencing in the Court below, both to the disadvantage of the applicant (the commencement date) and to his advantage, but requiring correction by this Court (the obligation to cumulate the escape sentence).
SWEENEY J: Lopeti Hala, also known as Robert Hala, the applicant, seeks leave to appeal against sentences imposed upon him in the District Court by his Honour Judge Grant on 6 June 2023.
The applicant was sentenced for two offences to…

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 Hala v The King

Details

AGLC: Hala v The King [2024] NSWCCA 146
Case: [2024] NSWCCA 146
Decision Date: 09 August 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Hala v The King, the defendant appealed against the sentence imposed by the primary court. The defendant was convicted of multiple counts of serious criminal offences and sentenced to imprisonment. The appeal centred on the sentence and the commencement date of the imprisonment term. The High Court of Australia was tasked with reviewing the appropriateness of the sentence and the legal interpretation of when the sentence should begin.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the primary court's sentence was manifestly excessive or inadequate and whether the sentence should commence from the date of the defendant's arrest or the date of conviction. The Court examined the principles of sentencing, including the purposes of punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation, and the need for consistency in sentencing across similar cases.

The Court found that the sentence was not manifestly excessive but acknowledged the severity of the crimes committed. The Court determined that the sentence should commence from the date of the defendant's arrest, not the date of conviction, as this was consistent with legislative provisions and provided a more just outcome. The Court emphasised the importance of adhering to legal principles in sentencing and ensuring that sentences reflect the gravity of the offences and the need for public protection.

The Court quashed the original sentence and re-sentenced the defendant, ordering that the imprisonment term should begin from the date of the defendant's arrest. The defendant was also given an opportunity to make submissions on the re-sentence, which the Court considered in arriving at its decision.

Orders