Maryan Dang v The Queen

The appellant, Maryan Dang, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment with an 18-month community correction order for recklessly causing serious injury by glassing a stranger in an unprovoked nightclub attack. The case was heard and dismissed on appeal in the High Court of Australia. The central issue for the court was whether the post-sentence psychologist's report diagnosing the appellant with borderline personality disorder should be admitted as fresh evidence, and if the non-admission of this evidence would result in a miscarriage of justice.

The court considered that the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder did not constitute fresh evidence because it did not address any causative psychological factors that might have influenced the offence. The appellant had conceded a drinking problem but did not suggest any psychological causation for the offence. The court ruled that it was not open to the appellant to conduct a different plea on appeal based on the new evidence. The court also found that the sentence was moderate in the circumstances, taking into account the unprovoked nature of the attack, the appellant's prior history of violence while intoxicated, and his heavy intoxication at the time of the offence.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the original sentence was upheld. The court determined that admitting the psychologist’s report would not alter the overall sentencing, as the appellant's intoxication and prior violent conduct were already considered in the original sentence. The court held that there was no miscarriage of justice in not admitting the fresh evidence, and the sentence was appropriate given the circumstances of the case.