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Palmer v Tasmania

Palmer v Tasmania

Case [2024] TASCCA 6 5 July 2024

Statutory Interpretation

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[2024] TASCCA 6

COURT:	SUPREME COURT OF TASMANIA (COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL)
CITATION:	Palmer v Tasmania [2024] TASCCA 6
PARTIES:	PALMER, Kye Douglas Glenn
v
STATE OF TASMANIA
FILE NO:	3502/2023
DELIVERED ON:	5 July 2024
DELIVERED AT:	Hobart
HEARING DATE:	29 May 2024
JUDGMENT OF:	Blow CJ, Brett J, Porter AJ
CATCHWORDS:

Criminal Law – Appeal and new trial – Appeal against sentence – Grounds for interference – Sentence manifestly excessive or inadequate – Two counts of assault during one incident – Domestic violence – Both counts involved pressure to the throat and neck – Where one involved use of a cord pulled tightly around the complainant's neck – Where lengthy delay before sentencing – Where much of delay attributable to appellant's conduct of the proceedings but some demonstrated rehabilitation – Where appellant subject to very restrictive bail conditions and with significant mental health issues – Global sentence of three years' imprisonment with 14 months suspended – Parole eligibility of one half on the operative term – Sentence not manifestly excessive.

Director of Public Prosecutions v Karklins (2018) 29 Tas R 373; Gregson v Tasmania [2018] TASCCA 14; Director of Public Prosecutions v Foster [2019] TASCCA 15; R v Edigarov [2001] NSWCCA 436, considered.

Aust Dig Criminal Law [3521]

REPRESENTATION:

Counsel:

Appellant: K Baumeler
Respondent: L Ogden

Solicitors:

Respondent: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Judgment Number:	[2024] TASCCA 6
Number of paragraphs:	54

Serial No 6/2024

File No CCA 3502/2023

KYE DOUGLAS GLENN PALMER v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT	COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL BLOW CJ BRETT J PORTER AJ 5 July 2024
Orders of the Court:
Appeal dismissed.

2 No 6/2024

File No CCA 3502/2023

KYE DOUGLAS GLENN PALMER v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL
BLOW CJ
5 July 2024

1 I agree with Porter AJ.

3 No 6/2024
File No CCA 3502/2023

KYE DOUGLAS GLENN PALMER v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL
BRETT J
5 July 2024

2 I agree that this appeal should be dismissed for the reasons given by Porter AJ.

4 No 6/2024
File No CCA 3502/2023

KYE DOUGLAS GLENN PALMER v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT	COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL PORTER AJ 5 July 2024
Introduction

3 This is an appeal against sentence. The appellant had pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault but on the second day of the trial before Wood J, he changed his pleas to guilty. Both counts relate to his then partner, Hayley Caulfield. They were committed during one incident on the same day, 24 February 2020. The particulars of the first count were that the appellant slapped Ms Caulfield to the face, pushed her onto a bed, put his hands around her throat and squeezed, and headbutted her to the head. The particulars of the second count were that he wrapped a dressing gown cord around her neck and pulled it…

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 Palmer v Tasmania

Details

AGLC: Palmer v Tasmania [2024] TASCCA 6
Case: [2024] TASCCA 6
Decision Date: 5 July 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Palmer appealed against a sentence imposed by the Supreme Court of Tasmania following his conviction on two counts of assault. Both assaults occurred during a single incident and involved pressure applied to the complainant's throat and neck, with one count specifically relating to the use of a cord pulled tightly around the complainant's neck.

The central legal issue before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania was whether the global sentence of three years' imprisonment, with 14 months suspended, was manifestly excessive. The Court was required to consider the impact of a lengthy delay in sentencing, which was partly attributable to the appellant's conduct but also included evidence of his rehabilitation. Further considerations included the appellant's highly restrictive bail conditions and his significant mental health issues.

The Court reasoned that while the delay and the appellant's personal circumstances were relevant factors, they did not render the sentence manifestly excessive. The severity of the assaults, particularly the use of a cord to constrict the complainant's neck, weighed heavily in the sentencing determination. The Court noted that the sentence provided for parole eligibility after serving one half of the operative term, which was a substantial period.

Ultimately, the Full Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the sentence imposed was not manifestly excessive.

Orders