R v Bennett

The appeal concerned a sentence imposed on the appellant, Mr Bennett, by a judge of the District Court. Mr Bennett had pleaded guilty to aggravated driving without due care, with the aggravating factors being the death of a cyclist and driving whilst disqualified. He also breached a good behaviour bond imposed for a prior offence of driving whilst disqualified. The judge sentenced him to 15 months imprisonment for the aggravated driving offence and a further cumulative sentence of 8 months for the drive disqualified offence, with a non-parole period of 14 months. A licence disqualification of 5 years was also imposed, cumulative upon a previous disqualification.

The central legal issues before the Court of Criminal Appeal were whether the sentencing judge erred by basing the sentence for the drive disqualified offence on a mistaken factual basis, and whether the total penalty imposed was manifestly excessive, particularly in light of prevailing sentencing standards and the absence of any finding of contumacy. The court was also asked to consider the impact of the cumulative licence disqualification on the appellant's future employment prospects.

The Court of Criminal Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the penalty for the drive disqualified offence was indeed excessive. The court reduced the sentence for this offence to 7 months imprisonment, to be served cumulatively on the 8 months for the aggravated driving offence, resulting in a total sentence of 15 months imprisonment. The non-parole period was reduced to 10 months. Furthermore, the court acknowledged the significant impact of the cumulative licence disqualification on the appellant, who resided in a rural community, and reduced the disqualification period to 2 years, to commence upon the expiry of the existing disqualification.