Latest updates to the Queensland Sentencing Manual
Proper approach to s 159A(1)
Since amendments to the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) effective 25th May 2020, the words “and for no other reason” have been removed from s 159A(1). In R v Wilson [2022] QCA 18, the Court of Appeal approved the approach taken to construction of the subsection by Bowskill J (as the Chief Justice then was) in R v Whitely [2021] QSC 154. The practical effect is that sentencing judges now have more discretion in declaring time served prior to sentence. See [15.641].
Discretionary serious violent offence conviction declarations
R v Free [2020] 4 QR 80; [2020] QCA 58; applied in R v Lewis [2022] QCA 14 is an important case, because although it confirms the principles applicable to such declarations for sentences of less than 10 years for schedule offences set out in R v McDougall [2007] 2 Qd R 87; (2006) 166 A Crim R 191; [2006] QCA 365; it confirms that it is an error to approach the determination on the basis that it is necessary for the offence to fall “outside the norm” for such offences, although that may still be a matter to consider in the integrated approach that is mandated by the authorities. See [15.798].
The interaction between ss 159A and 156A
When a sentencing court is faced with a situation where some of its sentences of imprisonment are required (by operation of s 156A) to be ordered to be served cumulatively on other terms of imprisonment then being served, it has to take great care in applying s 159A. See McMurdo JA (with whom Sofronoff P and Kelly J agreed) in R v Braeckmans [2022] QCA 25 at [26] – [31]. See [15.605].
The Queensland Sentencing Manual is a practical resource designed for those involved with sentencing and criminal law in Queensland. Authored by John Robertson, a former Judge of the District Court of Queensland and current Chair of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, the service offers: a guide to the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) as well as commentary on sentencing orders for juveniles, governing principles of sentencing, factors personal to the offender, plea of guilty, recording a conviction, sentencing hearings and appeals.
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John Robertson was admitted as a solicitor in 1973 and formed his own firm in 1978, which ultimately became Robertson O’Gorman. He was Deputy President of the Queensland Community Corrections Board from 1991-1994. In 1994, he was appointed as a District Court Judge. He served in Ipswich, Brisbane, and, for the last 16 years leading to retirement in 2018, at Maroochydore. He was a Judge of the Childrens Court of Queensland for his whole judicial career and President of that Court from 1999-2001. Throughout his career, he has written and lectured extensively on issues relating to sentencing and the criminal law, including restorative justice, sentencing law, advocacy and the criminal law and the media. He is the author of the Queensland Sentencing Manual which was first published in 1999. He is presently the Chair of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council and a part-time judicial member in the Misconduct Division of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.