Regina v Omar Rustom

[2005] NSWSC 61

CITATION:	Regina v Omar Rustom [2005] NSWSC 61
HEARING DATE(S):	28/09/04, 22/10/04, 10/12/04, 11/02/05
JUDGMENT DATE :	11 February 2005
JUDGMENT OF:	Dunford J
DECISION:	Contemnor sentenced

CATCHWORDS:	Contempt of Court - abusive and threatening remarks to juror in court after verdict of guilty of murder against brother - sentencing
LEGISLATION CITED:	Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
PARTIES:	Regina v Omar Rustom
FILE NUMBER(S):	SC 2004/2455
COUNSEL:	J L A Bennett SC - Crown W C Terracini SC - Contemnor
SOLICITORS:	S Kavanagh - Crown Sir Owen Dixon Chambers - Contemnor

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION:

- 1 -

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION

DUNFORD J

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2005

2004/2455 REGINA v OMAR RUSTOM

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: Omar Rustom appears for sentence on a charge of contempt of court on account of an outburst by him in the courtroom directed at a juror following verdicts of guilty of murder against his brother Mohamad Rustom and another man.

2 As appears from the transcript of Proceedings after Conviction in the trial on 8 September 2004 he addressed the juror by name from the back of the courtroom as he made remarks calculated to intimidate and upset her. I thereupon charged him with Contempt in the face of the Court.

3 As I say, he now appears for sentence in relation to that. One can understand him being upset and emotional at the verdict against his brother. But the task of the jury is often very unpleasant and is always onerous, difficult and carries with it great responsibility. Accordingly, the jury must be protected and permitted to perform its function without any threat of intimidation or abuse.

4 In the present case the juror, who was only doing her civic duty, had resisted improper approaches from others, not this contemnor, in relation to the trial and has since suffered grossly from those approaches and the incident in court by this contemnor to the extent of moving her address, changing jobs and she has also required counselling.

5 In spite of the terms of his outburst, using the juror's first name, I am satisfied from his evidence and also from the statement obtained from the juror by the sheriff, that he and the subject juror did not know each other prior to the trial and her name was apparently supplied to him by someone else.

6 This is a serious matter, because of the need to protect the anonymity, safety and freedom from threat of jurors, and to preserve the integrity of jury trials.

7 I have had regard in particular to s 3A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 and note that relevant considerations in this case are to denounce the conduct of the offender to make him accountable for his actions and to deter both himself and others from similar conduct in the future.

8 The contemnor was born on 13 September 1982 and is now aged 22 years of age. He had a bad criminal record between 1999 and 2003 when he was convicted of a variety of offences including offences relating to drugs, assault, intimidating police and driving offences. Since 2003 he appears to have turned his life around. He has stopped using illegal drugs, he has not committed any further offences, and is conducting a fruit marketing business in which he works hard and he is engaged to be married. This turnaround in his life is confirmed by the Pre-Sentence Report from Probation and Parole. He has given evidence acknowledging his wrongdoing and has apologised for his outburst.

9 In all the circumstances I consider the matter can be satisfactorily dealt with by the imposition of a Community Service Order.

10 Omar Rustom, you are convicted of Contempt of Court. I order you to perform 250 hours community service and I order you report to Liverpool Probation and Parole Service within seven days of today in relation to the commencement of such service. You are also to attend the Supreme Court Criminal Registry at 2pm today to be served with a notice setting out the details of this order.

11 I am required to explain to you what that means. You must collect a copy of the order at two o'clock today, if it is not ready wait until it is. You must report to the Liverpool District Office and they will then tell you where and when to report for your community service. Then you must carry out that service as directed, 250 hours of it. If you do not complete the whole 250 hours you are liable to be brought back before the Court and sentenced to full-time imprisonment for failure to complete the order. Do you understand all that?

12 OFFENDER: Yes, I do.

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