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Court of Criminal Appeal 1 December 2010

HAMPTON v R

[2010] NSWCCA 278

Assault & violenceTheft & propertyFirearms & weapons

Citation: Hampton v R [2010] NSWCCA 278
Court: NSW Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 1 December 2010
Judge(s): Beazley JA, Hulme J, Latham J

Background

The applicant was sentenced in the District Court on 18 December 2008 by Berman SC DCJ. He received an effective term of 15 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 11 years and 3 months, following convictions and pleas of guilty to a serious series of offences committed between November 2004 and December 2007.

The offences spanned aggravated break and enter, multiple armed robberies (several committed in company), demanding property with menaces, and offences relating to stolen vehicles. The robberies targeted retail outlets, hotels, and service stations across Sydney. Weapons used included knives, a hammer, a Taser, and a machete-type knife. Victims included employees and patrons who were threatened at close quarters, often forced to the ground, and in some instances confronted with blades held near their heads.

The applicant had also breached a suspended sentence imposed for the first offence by going on to commit the armed robbery at a Surry Hills 7-Eleven store.

  • Whether the overall sentence of 15 years with an 11 year and 3 month non-parole period was manifestly excessive
  • Whether the sentencing judge correctly applied the principles of totality when imposing a cascade of cumulative and concurrent sentences across a large number of offences
  • Whether the sentences imposed were within the range available when compared with comparable cases decided by the Court of Criminal Appeal

Decision

Hulme J (with whom Beazley JA agreed) granted leave to appeal but dismissed the appeal. The court found that, given the nature, number, and gravity of the offences, the overall sentence was not outside the range available to the sentencing judge.

The court conducted a detailed comparison with a series of comparable armed robbery cases decided by the Court of Criminal Appeal. Those cases were compiled in a table examining the number of offences, the sentences imposed, the weapons used, the offenders' criminal histories, and the plea discounts applied. The comparison supported the view that a 15-year effective term, while substantial, was not disproportionate to the conduct in question.

Latham J provided separate reasons, examining the structure of the sentences and the totality principle in greater detail. Her Honour considered whether the judge had appropriately moderated the aggregate of individual sentences to reflect the overall criminality, and concluded no error had been established.

The court was not persuaded that the sentence was infected by any identifiable error of principle, nor that it sat outside the range reflected in comparable sentencing decisions.

Orders Made

  • Leave to appeal granted
  • Appeal dismissed

Key Takeaways

  • In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed that a 15-year effective sentence with an 11 year and 3 month non-parole period for a prolonged course of serial armed robbery offending was within the available range.
  • Comparative sentencing analysis plays a significant role in manifest excess grounds: the court compiled and examined a table of analogous armed robbery cases to assess whether the sentence fell outside the range of outcomes in similar matters.
  • Where an offender commits numerous serious offences in company, with weapons, over an extended period, and has prior convictions including a breach of a suspended sentence, the cumulative weight of objective criminality supports the upper end of the sentencing range.
  • No error of sentencing principle was identified in the manner the sentencing judge structured cumulative and concurrent terms, including the application of the totality principle to aggregate a large number of individual sentences.
  • Beazley JA and Hulme J agreed in a single set of reasons, with Latham J providing additional analysis, reflecting a unanimous court on both the grant of leave and the dismissal of the appeal.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation: Not stated in the provided text.

Cases referenced (drawn from comparative sentencing table in the judgment):
- Maxfield (armed robbery, CCA)
- Waqa (armed robbery, CCA)
- Bereyne (armed robbery, CCA)
- Gardener (armed robbery, CCA)
- Dorsett (armed robbery, CCA)
- Gonzalez (armed robbery, CCA)
- Ghisolfi (armed robbery, CCA)
- Antecki (armed robbery, CCA)

Full citations for these cases were not reproduced in the text provided.