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District Court 6 December 2007

R v Gaddie, Justyn

[2007] NSWDC 374

Drugs
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCING GOING SUPPLY PROHIBITED DRUG ECSTASY 2 FORM 1 DRUG MATTERS 3 SUPPLIES WITHIN 2HOUR PERIOD

Citation: R v Gaddie, Justyn [2007] NSWDC 374
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 6 December 2007
Judge(s): Nicholson SC DCJ

Background

The offender, a 20-year-old male with no prior criminal history, pleaded guilty to ongoing supply of ecstasy (methylamphetamine tablets) to undercover police operatives at a Sydney hotel. The principal offence involved three separate supply transactions over a single evening in December 2006, with two further offences admitted on a Form 1: an earlier supply of three ecstasy tablets in September 2006 and possession of cannabis seeds in February 2007.

The total quantity of drugs involved across all matters was small: nine tablets weighing approximately 1.70 grams in total. The offender claimed he had been given the tablets by an associate, sold them at cost, and used the proceeds to buy drinks during his nights out. He described a lifestyle of attending hotels on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and using ecstasy recreationally during those evenings.

Medical and psychological evidence was tendered suggesting the offender had used drugs as a form of self-medication for post-traumatic stress and depression. The sentencing judge, however, expressed reservations about that characterisation, finding it inconsistent with the broader social lifestyle the offender had described.

  • Whether the objective seriousness of the offending and the ongoing nature of the supply warranted a full-time custodial sentence.
  • Whether the offender's prospects of rehabilitation were genuine and sufficient to justify an alternative to immediate imprisonment.
  • How to balance the principles of rehabilitation against the need for community protection in sentencing a young, first-time drug supplier.

Decision

The sentencing judge acknowledged that the offending was not isolated: it occurred across at least two separate dates, involved multiple transactions, and formed part of a pattern of supply at a specific venue that had attracted a dedicated police task force. Although the quantities were modest, the ongoing nature of the conduct elevated its objective seriousness beyond a one-off incident.

His Honour observed that s 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) requires full-time imprisonment to be a sentence of last resort. The court was prepared to honour that principle, but only if the offender could demonstrate genuine and sustained rehabilitation. The judge identified the offender's lifestyle at the time of offending as the central uncertainty: regular recreational drug use in a social environment that had facilitated the supply conduct.

The court declined to impose a final sentence immediately. Instead, it adjourned the matter for nine months under s 11 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, granting conditional bail and directing the offender to report on progress at three-monthly intervals. The judge indicated that, if the offender successfully demonstrated rehabilitation, the likely outcome would be a nine-month term of imprisonment that would be suspended. Failure to rehabilitate, or any breach of bail, would result in the matter being finalised earlier and a full-time custodial term remaining a live possibility.

Orders Made

  • Conviction recorded on the guilty plea to ongoing supply of a prohibited drug.
  • Matter adjourned for finalisation to 5 September 2008 under s 11 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
  • Conditional bail granted pursuant to s 11.
  • Progress report hearings listed for 22 February 2008 and 6 June 2008, at which the offender was required to demonstrate rehabilitation by evidence.
  • Counts 2, 3, and 4 on the relevant certificate withdrawn pursuant to s 166 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
  • Two further offences (supply on 16 September 2006 and possession of cannabis seeds on 16 February 2007) taken into account on a Form 1.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court treated the ongoing, patterned nature of supply at a single venue as a factor elevating objective seriousness, even where total drug quantities were small.
  • Under s 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, the court treated full-time imprisonment as a sentence of last resort, but expressly preserved it as the outcome if rehabilitation could not be demonstrated.
  • Adjourning sentence under s 11 to allow a young, first-time offender to establish genuine rehabilitation was used here as a structured mechanism with defined reporting obligations and evidentiary requirements placed squarely on the offender.
  • Medical evidence of self-medication did not automatically carry weight: the court assessed it against the offender's actual lifestyle at the time of offending and found inconsistencies that diminished its persuasive value.
  • Where rehabilitation was put forward as the basis for a non-custodial outcome, the court signalled it required concrete, evidenced progress rather than stated intention alone.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), s 5(1) (imprisonment as last resort), s 11 (adjournment for rehabilitation), s 32 (Form 1 procedure)
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s 166

Cases cited: None cited in the judgment text or metadata.