R v Georgiadis [No 5] - [2001] TASSC 88

[2001] TASSC 88

CITATION: R v Georgiadis [No 5] [2001] TASSC 88

PARTIES: R

v
GEORGIADIS, John
THEODOSIS, Julie
BELBIN, John
LAMONT, Andrew Wayne
KELLY, Paul Edward
BOSTOCK, John

TITLE OF COURT:  SUPREME COURT OF TASMANIA
JURISDICTION:  ORIGINAL
FILE NO/S:  237/1999

251/1999

DELIVERED ON:  6 August 2001
DELIVERED AT:  Hobart
HEARING DATE:  30 April - 27 July 2001
JUDGMENT OF:  Underwood J

CATCHWORDS:

Criminal Law - Jurisdiction practice and procedure - Judgment and punishment - Sentence - Factors to be taken into account - Miscellaneous matters - Hardship - Adverse effect of term of imprisonment on convicted person's child - Mother and father imprisoned.
R v Mitchell [1974] VR 625; Wayne v R (1992) 62 A Crim R 1; Boyle v R (1987) 34 A Crim R 202, followed.
Aust Dig Criminal Law [847]
Criminal Law - Jurisdiction practice and procedure - Judgment and punishment - Sentence - Factors to be taken into account - Miscellaneous matters - Other matters - Delay - Relevance to imposition of sentence.
R v Law [1996] 2 Qd R 63; Duncan v R (1983) 47 ALR 746, followed.
Mill v R (1988) 166 CLR 59; Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517, distinguished.
Aust Dig Criminal Law [851]

Criminal Law - Jurisdiction practice and procedure - Judgment and punishment - Sentence - Other matters - Tasmania - Conspiracy to defraud the Minister for Fisheries - Fish processor and abalone divers conspired to defraud with respect to quantity of abalone taken and processed - Unlawful conspiracies over four years.

Aust Dig Criminal Law [911]

REPRESENTATION:

Counsel:
             Crown:  D G Coates and H Virs
             Accused (Georgiadis and Theodosis):    A J Glynn SC
             Accused (Belbin):  R A Browne
             Accused (Lamont):  W M Hodgman QC
             Accused (Kelly):  G D Wendler QC
             Accused (Bostock):  D J Gunson

Solicitors:
             Crown:  Director of Public Prosecutions
             Accused (Georgiadis and Theodosis):    H Drakos and Company
             Accused (Belbin):  Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania
             Accused (Lamont):  Milton & Meyer
             Accused (Kelly):  Butler McIntyre & Butler
             Accused (Bostock):  Gunson Pickard & Hann

Judgment Number: [2001] TASSC 88
Number of paragraphs: 37

Serial No 88/2001
File No 237/1999
251/1999

THE QUEEN v JOHN GEORGIADIS, JULIE THEODOSIS,
JOHN BELBIN, ANDREW WAYNE LAMONT,
PAUL EDWARD KELLY, JOHN BOSTOCK (NO 5)

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT UNDERWOOD J

6 August 2001

Each of the six prisoners was charged with one or more counts of conspiracy. In addition, one of them was charged with two counts of perverting justice. The conspiracy counts were pleaded in three alternatives, one of which was to defraud the Minister of Sea Fisheries ("the Minister") contrary to the Criminal Code, s297(1)(d). After a trial of almost three months, verdicts of guilty were returned on all counts except one count of perverting justice.

The case concerned the taking and processing of abalone between 1991 and 1995. Two of the prisoners, Georgiadis and Theodosis, were fish processors. Through corporate structures they carried on this business from premises in Queensland and in Hobart. Two of the prisoners, Bostock and…

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 Georgiadis [No 5]

Details

AGLC: R v Georgiadis [No 5] [2001] TASSC 88
Case: [2001] TASSC 88
Decision Date: 6 August 2001

CaseChat Overview and Summary

This case involved six defendants who were charged with conspiracy to defraud the Minister of Sea Fisheries and other related charges. The defendants were involved in the processing and selling of abalone, a type of shellfish, in violation of Tasmanian law. The conspiracy involved the understatement of the weight of abalone caught and processed, and the omission of lodging required returns with the Minister. The trial lasted almost three months, and all defendants except one were found guilty on all counts except one count of perverting justice. The court considered various factors in sentencing the defendants, including the nature and extent of their involvement in the conspiracy, their level of culpability, and the need for general deterrence. The court rejected claims of delay and hardship as mitigating factors, except in the case of one defendant who was the mother of a young child. The court also took into account the defendants' assistance to the prosecution by making admissions of fact. The final orders of the court were convictions on all guilty counts and sentences ranging from four months to four years and three months' imprisonment, with some sentences partially suspended.

Orders