R v Brett Anthony Debrueys

In the case of R v Brett Anthony Debrueys, the respondent was convicted of damaging property. The dispute involved an error in the date of the offence as recorded in the sentencing remarks and orders. The matter was before the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, presided over by Justice Hallgarten. The issue before the court was whether an amendment could be made to correct the date of the offence in the sentencing remarks and orders, considering the typographical error that had occurred.

The court examined the relevant provisions of the Court Procedures Rules 2006 (ACT) to determine the appropriate course of action. It was acknowledged that Rule 6906 allows for the amendment of court records to correct clerical errors or mistakes. The court noted that the error in the date of the offence was an accidental slip or omission and did not affect the respondent's conviction or the sentence imposed. As such, the court was satisfied that the amendment was warranted to accurately reflect the date of the offence.

Consequently, the court ordered that the sentence imposed by the Honourable Justice Refshauge on 5 October 2011 be varied. The specific change was to omit from the sentence for the charge of damaging property the words and figures “13 July 2017” and to substitute “13 April 2017”. This amendment ensured that the sentencing remarks and orders accurately reflected the date of the offence.