R v Connors (No 2) - [2022] ACTSC 384

SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Case Title:	R v Connors (No 2)
Citation:	[2022] ACTSC 384
Hearing Date:	4 March 2022
DecisionDate:	7 March 2022
Before:	Refshauge AJ
Decision:	1. The Application dated 2 March 2022 for cancellation for the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order made on 15 February 2022 be dismissed. 2. The suspension of imprisonment under the custodial part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order made on 15 February 2022 be reinstated. 3. Stanley Shane Connors proceed directly from the Court precincts today to Canberra Recovery Services, Fyshwick, to arrive no later than 1:00pm today, 7 March 2022. 4. Stanley Shane Connors appear in Court for Review of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order on 18 March 2022 at 12:30 pm by electronic means.
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Judgment – failure to comply with obligations of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order – application for cancellation of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order – unwilling or unlikely to comply with a condition of the offender's Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order – continuation of treatment and supervision order will likely not achieve the objects of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order – offender poses unacceptable risk to the safety or welfare of a person in the community – application dismissed.
Legislation Cited:	Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) ss 12A, 80M, 80O, 80Y, 80Z, 80ZD, 80ZE, 80ZH
Cases Cited:	R v Connors [2022] ACTSC 374 R v Crawford (No 3) [2020] ACTSC 369 R v Dowling (No 3) [2021] ACTSC 210 R v Lyons (No 2) [2021] ACTSC 11 R v Crawford (No 4) [2021] ACTSC 209 R v Novakovic (No 5) [2022] ACTSC 199 R v Pelecky [2020] ACTSC 246
Parties:	The Queen ( Crown) Stanley Shane Connors ( Offender)
Representation:	Counsel C Muthurajah ( Crown) C Duffy ( Offender)
Solicitors ACT Director of Public Prosecutions ( Crown) Legal Aid ACT ( Offender)
File Numbers:	SCC 284 of 2021 SCC 285 of 2021

REFSHAUGE AJ:

Introduction

On 15 February 2022, a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order (Treatment Order) was made under s 12A of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) (Sentencing Act) for Stanley Shane Connors. He had pleaded guilty to an offence of aggravated robbery, two offences of dishonestly driving a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, two offences of dishonestly riding in a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, an offence of obtaining property by deception, two offences of driving a motor vehicle while disqualified and an offence of trespass: R v Connors [2022] ACTSC 374 (R v Connors).

Before making the Treatment Order, Mr Connors was sentenced to a total of four years imprisonment.

The Treatment Order required Mr Connors to admit himself to the residential drug rehabilitation program at Canberra Recovery Services, Fyshwick, ACT. That drug rehabilitation agency is described in R v Novakovic (a.k.a Noland) (No 5) [2022] ACTSC 199 at [9]. The Treatment Order also required him, if he left…

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 Connors (No 2)

Details

AGLC: R v Connors (No 2) [2022] ACTSC 384
Case: [2022] ACTSC 384
Decision Date: 7 March 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Connors (No 2) involved the defendant, Stanley Shane Connors, and the Crown. The primary dispute was whether the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order (DAATO) imposed on Connors should be cancelled due to his failure to comply with its conditions. The matter was heard in the Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The court was required to consider whether Connors' conduct justified the cancellation of the DAATO and whether his continued participation in the treatment program was likely to achieve the intended objectives of the order.

The legal issues before the court involved interpreting the conditions of the DAATO and assessing whether Connors' refusal to comply with these conditions warranted the cancellation of the order. The court had to determine if Connors' actions indicated that he was unwilling or unlikely to comply with the DAATO, and if the continuation of the treatment and supervision order would likely not achieve the objects of the DAATO. Furthermore, the court needed to evaluate whether Connors posed an unacceptable risk to the safety or welfare of a person in the community.

The court found that Connors had failed to comply with the obligations of the DAATO, which justified the application for cancellation. However, the court determined that Connors was unwilling or unlikely to comply with a condition of the DAATO. It was also found that the continuation of the treatment and supervision order would likely not achieve the objects of the DAATO, and that Connors posed an unacceptable risk to the safety or welfare of a person in the community. Despite these findings, the court dismissed the application for cancellation, instead reinstating the suspension of imprisonment under the custodial part of the DAATO. The court ordered Connors to proceed to Canberra Recovery Services immediately and attend a review of the DAATO via electronic means on 18 March 2022.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The Application dated 2 March 2022 for cancellation for the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order made on 15 February 2022 be dismissed.

2. The suspension of imprisonment under the custodial part of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order made on 15 February 2022 be reinstated.

3. Stanley Shane Connors proceed directly from the Court precincts today to Canberra Recovery Services, Fyshwick, to arrive no later than 1:00pm today, 7 March 2022.

4. Stanley Shane Connors appear in Court for Review of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order on 18 March 2022 at 12:30 pm by electronic means.

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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