Quzag v The Queen

[2015] ACTCA 9

SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
COURT OF APPEAL

Case Title:

Quzag v The Queen

Citation:

[2015] ACTCA 9

Hearing Date(s):

18 March 2015

DecisionDate:

18 March 2015

Before:

Refshauge J

Decision:

Mohanad Quzag be granted bail on the following conditions:

a)           That an acceptable person pays the sum of $5,000 to the Registrar of the ACT Supreme Court for payment to the Territory if Mr Quzag does not appear in accordance with his bail undertaking;

b)           That he subject himself to the supervision of the Director-General or her delegate and obey all reasonable directions of the person supervising him;

c)           That he reside at [address redacted] during the remand period;

d)           That he report to Belconnen Police Station each day between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm;

e)           That he not consume any illicit drugs;

f)           That he submit himself to urinalysis when reasonably required by the person supervising him;

g)           That he prosecute the appeal diligently;

h)           That he report to ACT Corrective Services, Eclipse House, London Circuit, Canberra City upon his release by no later than 4:00pm on 19 March 2015.

Category:

Principal Judgment

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL LAW – JURSIDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Application for bail – Appeal pending – Cultivating a traffickable quantity of cannabis – Special and exceptional circumstances – Custodial portion of sentence will have been fully or substantially served before the appeal is heard – Prospects of success on the appeal – Combination sentence – Parity – Sentences of co-offenders – Manifest excess

Legislation Cited:

Bail Act 1992 (ACT), s 22, 23A

Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT), ss 29(1), 61

Criminal Code 2002 (ACT), s 603(5)

Cases Cited:

Barbaro v R (2014) 88 ALJR 372

Bui v The Queen [2015] ACTCA 5
Low v The Queen (1984) 154 CLR 606
Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357
R v Hallocoglu (1992) 29 NSWLR 67
R v Quzag [2015] ACTSC 52
Sherd v The Queen (2011) 5 ACTLR 290

Parties:

Mohanad Quzag (Appellant)

The Queen (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel

Mr Kukulies-Smith (Appellant)

Ms E Beljic (Respondent)

Solicitors

Kamy Saeedi Lawyers (Appellant)

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (Respondent)

File Number(s):

ACTCA 12 of 2015

Decision under appeal: 

Court/Tribunal:             ACT Supreme Court

Before:  Murrell CJ

Date of Decision:         12 February 2015

Case Title:  R v Mohanad Quzag

Citation: [2015] ACTSC 52

Refshauge J:

1. On 12 February 2015, the Appellant, Mohanad Quzag, was convicted on his plea of guilty of an offence of cultivating, on 10 November 2012, a traffickable quantity of cannabis plants with the intention of selling them and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 28 months, with the first six months to be served by full-time custody, the next eight months by periodic detention and the remaining 14 months to be suspended and a good behaviour order was then made.

1. On 6 March 2015, Mr Quzag appealed against the sentence on two grounds:  that the sentence was manifestly excessive and that it failed to accord adequate – I assume what is…