Marchesani v Dalton

In the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the appeal by Anthony Mark Marchesani against Corey Henricus Andrew Dalton was dismissed. Marchesani had pleaded guilty to stealing a watch from a passenger at Perth Domestic Airport, where he was employed as a security guard, and to various other charges. The Magistrate had declined to make a spent conviction order in respect of the stealing charge, which was the subject of the appeal. The central legal issue was whether the Magistrate erred in law by failing to consider if Marchesani was unlikely to commit such an offence again, a key factor under s 45(1) of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA). The court held that while the Magistrate did err in not considering this aspect, the error was not material as there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Marchesani was unlikely to reoffend. The court also found that the nature of the offence and Marchesani's other charges indicated a breach of trust of significant magnitude, justifying the Magistrate's decision not to make a spent conviction order. The appeal was therefore dismissed.