Swift v The State of Western Australia

The Court of Appeal of Western Australia recently heard an application for bail pending an appeal against sentence filed by Alister Swift, who was convicted of unlawful assault occasioning bodily harm and deprivation of liberty. The appellant, a former police officer, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, to be served concurrently. Swift's appeal against sentence was based on two grounds: firstly, that the sentencing judge erred in determining that the need for general deterrence was high, and secondly, that the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive as to type, having regard to all the relevant factors.

The legal issues before the court were whether there were exceptional reasons for granting bail and whether the grounds of appeal had strong prospects of success. The court noted that bail could only be granted if there were exceptional reasons for doing so and it would otherwise be proper to grant bail, having regard to the considerations in Schedule 1 Part C of the Bail Act 1982 (WA). In the case of an appeal against sentence, there must be a strongly arguable case that a different sentence should have been imposed.

The court found that while the appellant's contentions might be reasonably arguable, they did not have a strong prospect of success. The court emphasised that the weight to be accorded to relevant factors was generally a matter falling within the discretion of the sentencing judge. The court was not satisfied that the grounds of appeal had strong prospects of success or that, even if successful, they would result in the imposition of a substantially lower sentence.

Accordingly, the application for bail pending the determination of the appeal was refused. The court noted that an urgent appeal order may be justified given the length of the sentence and the likelihood that a substantial portion of the non-parole period would be served before the appeal would, in the normal course, be heard. If the appellant wishes to seek such an order, an application, together with a supporting affidavit, should be filed.