Thompson v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Thompson against an indefinite sentence imposed by the District Court of Western Australia. The appeal concerned the procedures followed by the Court of Criminal Appeal of Western Australia in dealing with Thompson's appeal against his sentence.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the Court of Criminal Appeal erred in commissioning further psychological reports on appeal, and whether the right of a defendant to be fully heard during resentencing had been prejudiced by the appellate court's procedure. The High Court also considered the circumstances under which an indefinite sentence should be imposed.

The High Court found that while the Court of Criminal Appeal had acted without objection from the applicant's counsel at the time, and had provided the new reports to both parties for further submissions, the procedure raised concerns regarding the applicant's right to be fully heard, particularly in the context of a resentencing exercise. The Court noted that the original sentencing judge had laboured under time constraints, leading to inadequately prepared presentence and psychological reports. Consequently, the High Court set aside the order of the Court of Criminal Appeal dismissing Thompson's appeal and remitted the matter to that Court to be dealt with in accordance with the High Court's reasons.