R v Clark

The appeal concerned a sentence imposed by a sentencing judge on the appellant, who had pleaded guilty to criminal trespass in a place of residence and aggravated recklessly causing serious harm. The appellant sought to appeal against the decision to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the sentencing judge had erred in failing to adequately take into account the significant hardship that an immediate custodial sentence would impose on the appellant's dependants, namely her autistic daughter and her mother, for whom she was the primary carer. Relatedly, the court considered whether fresh evidence, pertaining to the impact of the custodial sentence on these dependants, should have been received and whether the sentencing judge was correct in declining to suspend the sentence.

The court found no error in the sentencing judge's decision. It was held that the judge had properly considered the issue of hardship to the appellant's dependants when determining the sentence. The court concluded that the sentencing judge had not erred in their assessment of the relevant factors and therefore dismissed the appeal.