Turner v The State of Western Australia

The appeal was brought by the appellant, Nathan Anthony Turner, against his sentence imposed by the District Court of Western Australia for three counts of possession of a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply it to another. The appellant contended that the individual sentences for each count were manifestly excessive and that the total effective sentence of 5 years' imprisonment infringed the first limb of the totality principle. The Court of Appeal found that the sentence for the cannabis offence was manifestly excessive and that it was not necessary to consider the other grounds of appeal. The Court resentenced the appellant to a total effective sentence of 3 years 10 months' immediate imprisonment, with the sentence for the MDMA offence to be served cumulatively upon the sentence for the methylamphetamine offence and the sentence for the cannabis offence to be served concurrently.

In reaching this decision, the Court considered the nature and extent of the appellant's offending, the maximum penalties for the offences, and the customary sentencing standards for drug offences. The Court found that the sentence for the cannabis offence was significantly greater than sentences generally imposed for this kind of offending and that it was manifestly excessive. The Court then exercised afresh its sentencing discretion with respect to all counts on the indictment, taking into account all relevant factors, including the appellant's personal circumstances and the need for general and personal deterrence. The Court concluded that a total effective sentence of 3 years 10 months' immediate imprisonment was commensurate with the seriousness of the appellant's offending and bore a proper relationship to the overall criminality involved in all of the offences.