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R v Miller (No 2)

R v Miller (No 2)

Case [2022] NSWSC 1347 6 October 2022

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Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Miller (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 1347
Hearing dates: 18 August 2022
Date of orders: 6 October 2022
Decision date: 06 October 2022
Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal
Before: Cavanagh J
Decision:
The offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 20 years commencing on 20 June 2020 and ending on 19 June 2040. The non-parole period is a term of 13 years, expiring on 19 June 2033, that being the date upon which the offender will become eligible for parole.

Catchwords:
CRIMES — sentencing — murder — objective seriousness of offending — offender in psychotic state at time of offending — moral culpability — subjective factors — special circumstances

Legislation Cited:
Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW)
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW)

Cases Cited:
Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWSCCA
Droudis v The Queen (2020) 103 NSWLR 806; [2020] NSWCCA 322
DSvR; DMvR [2022] NSWCCA 156
Fuller v R [2022] NSWCCA 203
Hili v The Queen (2010) 242 CLR 520; [2010] HCA 45
Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120; [2011] HCA 39
R v Cadman [2019] NSWSC 634
R v Fang (No4) [2017] NSWSC 323
R v Homann [2018] NSWSC 757
R v Isaacs (1997) 41 NSWLR 374; (1997) 90 A Crim R 587
R v Maletsas [2022] NSWSC 712
The Queen v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270; [1999] HCA 54 199
Veen v The Queen (No 2) (1988) 164 CLR 465; [1988] HCA 14

Category: Sentence
Parties: Rex (Crown)
Jordan Brodie Miller (Offender)
Representation:
Counsel:
L Carr SC (Crown)
P Krisenthal (Offender)
Solicitors:
Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown)
Legal Aid NSW (Offender)

File Number(s): 2020/182872
Publication restriction: None

Judgment

On 20 June 2020 at Metford in the State of New South Wales, Jordan Brodie Miller (the offender) killed Emerald Jade Wardle. At the time of her death, Ms Wardle was 18 years of age. The offender was 20 years of age. They had been in a relationship for approximately two years. Ms Wardle was the offender’s girlfriend or partner.
The offender killed Ms Wardle by strangling her. He strangled her during a violent assault upon her at approximately 1.00am whilst they were alone in the place where they were staying, being a property owned by the offender’s family at Metford.
On 20 June 2020, the offender was charged with Ms Wardle’s murder. He entered a plea of not guilty.
The trial commenced before me and a jury of 15 (originally 15 due to Covid but reduced to 12 at the end of closing addresses) on 9 June 2022.
On 14 June 2022, the offender was found guilty of Ms Wardle’s murder.
The offender did not dispute committing the physical acts which caused Ms Wardle’s death but disputed the…

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 Miller (No 2)

Details

AGLC: R v Miller (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 1347
Case: [2022] NSWSC 1347
Decision Date: 06 October 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved a defendant, Miller, who had been convicted of the murder of another person. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate sentence for Miller, taking into account a range of factors, including the objective seriousness of the offence, Miller's mental state at the time of the offence, and his level of moral culpability. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Australia, which was asked to review the sentence imposed by the trial court.

The key legal issues before the court were whether the trial court had appropriately considered the objective seriousness of the offence, Miller's mental state at the time of the offence, and the extent to which Miller's subjective factors and special circumstances should have influenced the sentence. The court was also asked to consider whether the sentence imposed by the trial court was manifestly inadequate or excessive.

The court found that the trial court had failed to adequately consider the objective seriousness of the offence, and had placed too much emphasis on Miller's mental state at the time of the offence. The court held that while Miller's mental state was a relevant consideration, it was not the only factor to be taken into account when determining an appropriate sentence. The court also found that the trial court had not given sufficient weight to the level of moral culpability on Miller's part, and had failed to properly consider the impact of the offence on the victim and their family.

As a result of these findings, the court allowed the appeal and quashed the sentence imposed by the trial court. The case was remitted to the trial court for re-sentencing, with directions that the court consider the objective seriousness of the offence, Miller's level of moral culpability, and the impact of the offence on the victim and their family. The court also directed the trial court to consider the subjective factors and special circumstances relevant to Miller's case, but to give them appropriate weight in relation to the other factors considered.

Orders