Hardwick v Tasmania

In *Hardwick v Tasmania*, the Court of Criminal Appeal of Tasmania considered an appeal against sentence. The appellant, Hardwick, had pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving occasioning death. The central issue on appeal was the admissibility and weight to be given to a victim impact statement tendered by the prosecution during the sentencing hearing.

The Court was required to determine whether the victim impact statement, which contained information about the deceased's character and the impact of his death on his family, was relevant and admissible for the purposes of sentencing. Specifically, the Court had to consider the scope of the *Sentencing Act 1997* (Tas) in relation to the use of victim impact statements and whether the content of the statement went beyond what was permissible under the Act.

The Court reasoned that while victim impact statements are intended to provide the court with information about the harm suffered by victims and their families, their content must be confined to matters relevant to the sentencing process. The Court found that certain parts of the victim impact statement, which expressed the victim's character and the family's views on the appropriate sentence, were not admissible as they did not relate to the harm caused by the offence. The Court emphasised that the focus of a victim impact statement should be on the consequences of the crime, not on the character of the deceased or the sentencing preferences of the victim's family.

The Court allowed the appeal in part, finding that the sentencing judge had erred in giving weight to inadmissible material within the victim impact statement. A new sentencing hearing was ordered.