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Court of Criminal Appeal 28 March 2006

Dudley Mark Aslett v Regina

[2006] NSWCCA 86

Other

Citation: Dudley Mark Aslett v Regina [2006] NSWCCA 86
Court: NSW Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 28 March 2006
Judge(s): Spigelman CJ, Barr J, Howie J

Background

This short judgment is a corrective order issued by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal following its principal judgment delivered four days earlier, on 24 March 2006. In that earlier decision, the Court had allowed an appeal against sentences imposed in the District Court by Finnane QC DCJ and substituted new sentences on counts 5, 6 and 7.

When recording the substituted sentences, the Court identified that it had misstated the non-parole periods it had actually intended to impose on those counts. This brief judgment was issued solely to correct that error.

  • Whether the non-parole periods recorded in the Court's order of 24 March 2006 for counts 5, 6 and 7 accurately reflected the Court's intended sentence
  • What the correct non-parole periods and balance of terms should be for each of those counts

Decision

The Court acknowledged that in substituting sentences on counts 5, 6 and 7 in its earlier judgment (at paragraph 146), it had misstated the intended non-parole period. To remedy this, the Court vacated the orders made on 24 March 2006 in relation to those three counts and replaced them with corrected orders.

The corrected sentences, identical across all three counts, each carry a non-parole period of eight years and six months and a balance of term of seven years and six months. The total head sentence on each count is therefore sixteen years. The non-parole periods run from 22 August 2017 and expire on 21 February 2026, with the balance of each term expiring on 21 August 2033.

Orders Made

  • The order substituting sentences on counts 5, 6 and 7 (made 24 March 2006) was vacated.
  • On each of counts 5, 6 and 7, a non-parole period of eight years and six months was imposed, commencing 22 August 2017 and expiring 21 February 2026.
  • On each of counts 5, 6 and 7, a balance of term of seven years and six months was imposed, commencing 22 February 2026 and expiring 21 August 2033.

Key Takeaways

  • The Court of Criminal Appeal retains the ability to correct a misstated order in a judgment by issuing a further, corrective decision that vacates and replaces the erroneous order.
  • Where an appellate court quashes and substitutes sentences, the terms recorded in its orders must accurately reflect the sentence the court intended to impose; a mismatch between intention and the written order warrants correction.
  • In substituting the corrected orders, each of the three counts attracted an identical sentence structure: a non-parole period of eight years and six months followed by a balance of term of seven years and six months, totalling sixteen years per count.
  • This judgment contains no substantive discussion of sentencing principles; it is a purely administrative correction to an earlier order.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

No legislation or cases are cited in the text of this corrective judgment. The principal judgment to which it relates is the Court of Criminal Appeal's decision in the same matter dated 24 March 2006 (CCA 2005/1712).