Re: ROBERT JOHN TALBOT
And: THE QUEEN
No. ACT G47 of 1991
FED No. 54
Criminal Law
(1992) 59 A Crim R 383
COURT
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY DISTRICT REGISTRY
GENERAL DIVISION
Jenkinson(1), O'Loughlin(2) and Higgins(3) JJ.
CATCHWORDS
Criminal law - Appeal against sentence - Offences of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery - Sentences set aside - Order for release without sentence upon entering into recognisance containing conditions - Addiction to Pethidine - Addiction enhanced by legal administration - Failure to properly exercise sentencing discretion - Exceptional circumstances.
The Queen v Baldwin (1988) A Crim R 465
Veen v The Queen (No. 2) (1988) 164 CLR 465
"The Abolition of Man" C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles)
HEARING
CANBERRA
#DATE 6:1:1992
ORDER
1. The appeal be allowed.
2. The sentences be set aside.
3. In lieu of the sentences set aside the appellant be released without sentence upon his giving security by his own recognisance in the sum of $2,000.00 that:-
(i) he will be of good behaviour for three years from this day;
(ii) he will comply with the conditions that -
(A) he will during the said period of three years be subject to supervision on probation under the Director of Adult Corrective Services or such other person as the said Director may from time to time appoint; and
(B) he will during the said period of three years obey all reasonable directions of the said Director and of any such other person so appointed including but not limited to directions with respect to his co-operative participation in residential drug rehabilitation programs and medical examinations and counselling programs and with respect to the provision by him from time to time of his body fluids for medical examination and analysis.
Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.
JUDGE1
Appeal against sentences for armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.
The appellant was born in June 1963. On 17 February 1991 he attempted to commit armed robbery of an addictive drug in a chemist's shop in Manuka. A few minutes later he did commit armed robbery of that substance in another chemist's shop in Manuka. He pleaded guilty of each offence before a judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, who found that "the offences were committed ... when he was in a severely disturbed state", and he was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment for the attempt and 3 years' imprisonment for the armed robbery. It was ordered that the sentences be served concurrently, and that the period before the expiration of which he be not eligible for parole be 18 months. The addictive drug the appellant sought by the threat of violence to obtain was pethidine, to which he was addicted.
The foregoing account of two grave offences repeats the daily experience of the criminal courts of this and many other countries in the second…
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- AGLC
- Talbot, R.J. v The Queen [1992] FCA 54 ((1992) 59 A Crim R 383)
- Case
- [1992] FCA 54
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The legal issues that the court needed to address involved the adequacy of the sentencing discretion exercised by the lower court, particularly in light of the appellant's addiction and the exceptional circumstances surrounding it. The court had to consider whether the original sentences were appropriate and if there were grounds to set them aside in favour of a different disposition. Furthermore, the court needed to examine whether the release of the appellant without a formal sentence, under recognisance with specific conditions, was an appropriate alternative given the appellant's addiction and the potential for rehabilitation.
In its reasoning, the court found that the original sentencing process failed to properly consider the appellant's addiction and the exceptional circumstances surrounding it. The court concluded that the original sentences were inappropriate and set them aside. Instead, the court ordered that the appellant be released without a formal sentence, provided that he entered into a recognisance with specified conditions aimed at his rehabilitation and supervision. The conditions included adherence to probation, participation in drug rehabilitation and medical programs, and compliance with directions from the Director of Adult Corrective Services.
The final orders of the court were that the appeal be allowed, the sentences be set aside, and the appellant be released without a formal sentence upon entering into a recognisance of $2,000.00, subject to conditions that he remain of good behaviour for three years, comply with probation supervision, and participate in specified rehabilitation and medical programs.
Orders
Orders of the court
1. The appeal be allowed.
2. The sentences be set aside.
3. In lieu of the sentences set aside the appellant be released without sentence upon his giving security by his own recognisance in the sum of $2,000.00 that:-
(i) he will be of good behaviour for three years from this day;
(ii) he will comply with the conditions that -
(A) he will during the said period of three years be subject to supervision on probation under the Director of Adult Corrective Services or such other person as the said Director may from time to time appoint; and
(B) he will during the said period of three years obey all reasonable directions of the said Director and of any such other person so appointed including but not limited to directions with respect to his co-operative participation in residential drug rehabilitation programs and medical examinations and counselling programs and with respect to the provision by him from time to time of his body fluids for medical examination and analysis.
Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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