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R v Frawley

R v Frawley

Case [2000] NSWSC 1128 5 December 2000

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CITATION: R v Frawley [2000] NSWSC 1128

CURRENT JURISDICTION: Criminal

FILE NUMBER(S): SC L3/97

HEARING DATE(S): 10/11/00

JUDGMENT DATE: 5 December 2000

PARTIES :

Regina v Maurice Peter Frawley

JUDGMENT OF: Studdert J

COUNSEL : R. Hulme (Crown)
A. Haesler (Applicant)

SOLICITORS: Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Legal Aid Commission (Applicant)

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act
Sentencing Act 1989
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED: R v White (unreported, NSWCCA, 23 June 1998)
R v Stephens [1999] NSWCCA 80
R v Smith (1987) 27 A Crim R 315
R v L (unreported, NSWCCA, 17 June 1996)
R v Chetchuti (unreported, NSWCCA, 24 December 1993)
R v Taylor (unreported, NSWCCA, 18 April 1995)
R v Cheung (unreported, NSWCCA, 11 December 1995)
R v Everett (unreported, NSWCCA, 13 December 1995)
R v Stephens [1999] NSWCCA 80
R v Barry [2000] NSWCCA 138
R v Marshall [1999] NSWSC 1267
R v Previtera 94 A Crim R 76
R v Bollen 99 A Crim R 510
R v Dang [1999] NSWCCA 42
R v White [2000] NSWSC 555

DECISION: See para 42

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
CRIMINAL DIVISION
STUDDERT J
Tuesday 5 December 2000

L3/97 REGINA v MAURICE PETER FRAWLEY
JUDGMENT
1   HIS HONOUR: This application concerns an existing life sentence. The applicant seeks a specified term for such sentence and the setting of a non parole period.
2   The applicant was convicted of the murder on 6 May 1988 of Janice Maree Goodwin at Umina. Following his conviction, Abadee J passed sentence upon him on 6 December 1994. The sentence imposed was penal servitude for life, and the sentence was expressed to date from 7 May 1988 when the applicant was taken into custody.
3   The lapse of time between the date of the crime and the date of sentence is accounted for by the following intervening events. The applicant stood trial twice: the first occasion was in 1990 but from his conviction after that trial the applicant appealed and on 15 September 1993 the Court of Criminal Appeal upheld the appeal and a new trial was ordered. The second trial began before Abadee J and jury on 1 August 1994 and the applicant was again convicted. It was the sentence following that second trial which has prompted the present application. To complete the narrative of court proceedings, the applicant appealed against his conviction following the second trial. There was much delay in the prosecution of that appeal but eventually the appeal was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal on 21 August 2000 and that appeal was dismissed on 30 August 2000.
4 When the applicant was sentenced by Abadee J, the sentencing process was governed by s 19 of the Crimes Act, now repealed. The applicant lodged this application pursuant to s 13A of the Sentencing Act 1989, but it was common ground that this application is to be considered under Sch 1 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
5   In considering this application, I…

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 Frawley

Details

AGLC: R v Frawley [2000] NSWSC 1128
Case: [2000] NSWSC 1128
Decision Date: 5 December 2000

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of R v Frawley, the applicant, Maurice Peter Frawley, sought a specified term and a non-parole period for his existing life sentence, imposed following his conviction for the murder of Janice Maree Goodwin in 1988. The case was heard by Studdert J in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The primary legal issues revolved around the appropriate sentence for the brutal nature of the crime, the applicant's health conditions, and his conduct while in custody. The court had to balance the severity of the offence against the applicant's health issues and good conduct in prison.

The court, after reviewing the brutal circumstances of the murder, the applicant's health conditions, and his conduct in prison, concluded that a specified term and a non-parole period should be set. The judge acknowledged the severity of the crime, the lack of contrition by the applicant, and his good behaviour in prison. However, the court determined that a non-parole period commencing immediately would not adequately reflect the gravity of the offence. After considering relevant precedents, the court set a sentence of twenty years imprisonment with a non-parole period of fourteen years.

The court granted the application and imposed a sentence of imprisonment for twenty years, to commence on 7 May 1988, with a non-parole period of fourteen years. This means the applicant would be eligible for parole on 7 May 2002.

Orders