Saleh v The Queen

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia by Mr Saleh (the applicant) against a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales. The applicant sought an extension of time to bring his appeal, which was not opposed by the respondent, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. The Court of Criminal Appeal had, by majority, increased the applicant's sentence from two years imprisonment with immediate release on recognisance to three years imprisonment with release on recognisance after serving two years.

The applicant contended that the Court of Criminal Appeal erred in three important regards when increasing his sentence. The primary legal issue was whether the Court of Criminal Appeal had fallen into error in its assessment of the adequacy of the original sentence, particularly concerning the general deterrent effect of suspended sentences and the weight to be given to the impact of a custodial sentence on the offender's family and dependants. The applicant argued that the Court of Criminal Appeal's reasoning, which appeared to discount the general deterrent effect of suspended sentences and to treat the impact on family as secondary to the offender's criminality, was flawed.

The High Court, in refusing special leave, indicated that the proposed appeal would not raise any issue of principle warranting the grant of special leave. While the applicant argued that the Court of Criminal Appeal had misapplied sentencing principles, particularly regarding the role of general deterrence and the mandatory consideration of the impact on dependants under section 16A(2)(p) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the Court found no arguable error of principle. The Court implicitly accepted that the Court of Criminal Appeal's decision, despite the applicant's submissions, was within the bounds of its sentencing discretion and did not present a question of law of general importance.