Horan v O'Brien

Kieran Horan appealed against a sentence imposed on him by the Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The sentence was imposed on him for the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The court was required to determine whether the sentence was manifestly excessive. The court found that the sentence was manifestly excessive because it did not allow for any period of supervision in the community, which is an appropriate outcome for a young man with a long history of drug abuse. The court also found that the magistrate did not adequately consider the effect of the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act on the sentence that was being imposed. The court resentenced the appellant to imprisonment for a period of nine months, suspended upon the offender giving an undertaking to comply with his good behaviour obligations under the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 for a period of 12 months.

The appeal is allowed, and the sentence imposed on 17 June 2021 is set aside. The offender is resentenced as follows: on charge CC2021/1288 the offender is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of nine months. That sentence is suspended upon the offender giving an undertaking to comply with his good behaviour obligations under the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 for a period of 12 months with the following additional condition: he is to be on probation subject to the supervision of the Director-General and obey all directions of the Director-General for a period of 12 months or such lesser period as determined by the Director-General.