R v Black - [2022] NSWDC 480

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Black [2022] NSWDC 480
Hearing dates: 25 August 2022
Date of orders: 25 August 2022
Decision date: 25 August 2022
Jurisdiction: Criminal
Before: Haesler SC DCJ
Decision:
Take/detain in company with intent to gain advantage & occasion actual bodily harm: Sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 4 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 2 years 6 months.
Dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception: Sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of 9 months

Catchwords:
CRIME – Take/detain in company with intent to get advantage occasion actual bodily harm -
Dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception – Breach Community Corrections orders
SENTENCING - Relevant factors on sentence - late guilty plea - joint criminal enterprise – humiliation of the victim - background of hardship and trauma – disadvantaged childhood - both parent’s gaoled- lesser moral culpability

Legislation Cited:
Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
Criminal Procedure Act 1986
The Crimes Act 1900

Cases Cited:
Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v Beattie [2017] NSWCCA 301
R v Filipetti (Cameron) [2014] NSWDC 214

Category: Sentence
Parties: Jackson Black (the offender)
Director of Public Prosecutions
Representation:
Counsel:
Mr S Fraser, Public Defender (for the offender)
Ms N Keay, Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor
Solicitors:
Justine Hall Pty Ltd (for the offender)

File Number(s): 2021/00059709

sentence – EX TEMPORE REVISED

The people of Wollongong are entitled to go about their business. no matter what it is, free from interference from others, free from assault, free from intimidation and free from being taken from the street and stood over by people.
The victim in this matter supplemented his unemployment benefits by recycling cans and bottles. He was doing so on the afternoon of 28 December when a car pulled alongside him. The driver of the car was Justin Cameron. Jackson Black, the offender now before the Court, was the front seat passenger. Cameron called the victim over and the victim took up an offer to come with the two other men to have “a puff”; I presume of marijuana. They drove to an industrial area. Cameron got out of the car, sat next to the victim in the back and put a knife towards him. He brought up something from years ago that may or may not have occurred between the two, the facts are unclear. Cameron punched the complainant several times and asked for money. At that point Black came around to the back of the car and grabbed the victim around the neck. Cameron continued to punch him while asking him where his money and wallet were.
Cameron held the knife at the victim’s throat and made demands. The knife caused the victim some injuries but I note that this offender is not charged in relation to any of those injuries.
The three then drove to a storage shed which the victim had mentioned to Cameron. The victim was told to look down otherwise he would…

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 R v Black

Details

AGLC: R v Black [2022] NSWDC 480
Case: [2022] NSWDC 480
Decision Date: 25 August 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Black involved an individual charged with multiple criminal offences. The defendant was accused of taking and detaining another person in company with the intent to obtain an advantage and causing actual bodily harm. Additionally, the defendant was charged with obtaining a financial advantage by deception and breaching community corrections orders. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for each of the offences.

The primary legal issues that the court had to decide related to the sentencing of the defendant. The court had to determine the appropriate sentence for each offence, taking into account the relevant factors. The court considered the defendant's late guilty plea, the fact that the offences were committed as part of a joint criminal enterprise, the humiliation of the victim, the defendant's background of hardship and trauma, and the disadvantaged childhood that the defendant had experienced. The court also had to consider the defendant's lesser moral culpability in light of these factors.

The court held that the defendant's late guilty plea and the fact that the offences were committed as part of a joint criminal enterprise were significant factors in determining the sentence. The court also considered the humiliation of the victim and the defendant's background of hardship and trauma. The court held that the defendant's disadvantaged childhood and the fact that both of the defendant's parents had been gaoled were mitigating factors that reduced the defendant's moral culpability. The court held that the appropriate sentence for the taking and detaining offence was a term of imprisonment of 4 years and 3 months, with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months. The court held that the appropriate sentence for the deception offence was a fixed term of imprisonment of 9 months.

Orders

Orders of the court

Take/detain in company with intent to gain advantage & occasion actual bodily harm: Sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 4 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 2 years 6 months.

Dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception: Sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of 9 months

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Black [2022] NSWDC 480
Hearing dates:	25 August 2022
Date of orders:	25 August 2022
Decision date:	25 August 2022
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Haesler SC DCJ
Decision:	Take/detain in company with intent to gain advantage & occasion actual bodily harm: Sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 4 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 2 years 6 months. Dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception: Sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of 9 months
Catchwords:	CRIME – Take/detain in company with intent to get advantage occasion actual bodily harm - Dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception – Breach Community Corrections orders SENTENCING - Relevant factors on sentence - late guilty plea - joint criminal enterprise – humiliation of the victim - background of hardship and trauma – disadvantaged childhood - both parent’s gaoled- lesser moral culpability
Legislation Cited:	Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Criminal Procedure Act 1986 The Crimes Act 1900
Cases Cited:	Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v Beattie [2017] NSWCCA 301 R v Filipetti (Cameron) [2014] NSWDC 214
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	Jackson Black (the offender) Director of Public Prosecutions
Representation:	Counsel: Mr S Fraser, Public Defender (for the offender) Ms N Keay, Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor Solicitors: Justine Hall Pty Ltd (for the offender)
File Number(s):	2021/00059709