Sabato v The Queen

The appeal concerned the sentence imposed on the appellant by a sentencing judge. The appellant contended that the starting point of six months imprisonment for the offence of unlawful possession committed on 1 August 2019 was manifestly excessive.

The court was required to determine whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive, particularly in relation to the component for unlawful possession, and whether the sentencing judge erred by failing to make express allowances for concurrency and totality in the overall sentence.

The court found that the six-month starting point for the unlawful possession offence was indeed manifestly excessive, especially when considered in conjunction with the other sentences imposed. While acknowledging the principles of concurrency and totality, the court found no error in the sentencing judge's decision to structure the sentence without express allowances for these principles, inferring that some degree of concurrency was afforded in relation to certain offences. The court allowed the appeal against sentence and proceeded to resentence the appellant, taking into account the circumstances of each offence, the appellant's personal circumstances including a difficult upbringing and recent personal crises, his insight and remorse demonstrated through admissions and guilty pleas, and his lack of prior significant imprisonment.