Citation: R v Coffee, Bradley [2010] NSWDC 261
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 7 May 2010
Judge(s): Nicholson SC DCJ
Background
On the night of 1 February 2009, the offender, a 23-year-old man from Dubbo, had been drinking heavily over the course of the afternoon and evening. After an upsetting series of phone calls with his ex-partner, he drove to a nearby service station to buy cigarettes. His blood alcohol concentration was later recorded at 0.204 grams per 100 millilitres of blood, more than four times the legal limit.
A friend, Rohan Sommerville, accompanied the offender in the passenger seat. After purchasing cigarettes, the offender performed a burnout through a roundabout on Birch Avenue at high speed, narrowly avoiding a collision with a vehicle carrying a mother, her adult daughter, and a seven-year-old child. He then accelerated down Windsor Parade at approximately 100 kilometres per hour in a 50 km/h zone before losing control on a sweeping bend.
The vehicle struck a traffic island and came to rest on the wrong side of the road. Sommerville suffered a degloving injury to his left elbow, thumb, and index finger, and his middle finger was amputated. These injuries were permanent. The offender was charged with aggravated dangerous driving, specifically driving in a manner dangerous to another person while having a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol in his blood, resulting in grievous bodily harm to his passenger.
Legal Issues
- What was the objective seriousness of the offence, taking into account the manner of driving, the blood alcohol reading, and the harm caused?
- What weight should be given to the offender's personal circumstances, including his age, background, family situation, and rehabilitation prospects?
- Was a custodial sentence appropriate, and if so, what non-parole period reflected the combination of punishment, personal deterrence, and general deterrence?
- Did special circumstances exist justifying a longer-than-standard parole period?
Decision
The court assessed the objective seriousness of the offence as high. The offender drove at approximately twice the speed limit on residential streets while intoxicated at more than four times the legal limit, performing a burnout through a roundabout and then losing control on a bend. The court found a high level of moral culpability, noting the offender had placed both his passenger and other road users at serious risk.
In considering the offender's subjective circumstances, the court acknowledged several mitigating factors: his youth (aged 24 at sentencing), a difficult childhood, his role as the father of two young children, and the support of his family. However, these were weighed against significant concerns. The offender had breached an existing section 9 bond, showed poor insight into his conduct, and had "rationalised" his driving rather than fully confronting its dangers. The court found his rehabilitation prospects to be "clouded," identifying him as a risk-taker who was not coping well with lawful conduct.
The court determined that, absent a guilty plea, a head sentence of two years' imprisonment would have been appropriate. A 25% discount was applied for the early guilty plea entered before the Magistrate, reducing the total sentence to 18 months. The court found special circumstances on account of the offender's youth, his first time in custody, and the importance of supervised reintegration into the community. This justified a non-parole period of 9 months, with a balance of term of a further 9 months.
Orders Made
- Convicted of aggravated dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
- Non-parole period of 9 months, commencing 7 May 2010 and expiring 6 February 2011.
- Balance of term of 9 months, expiring 6 November 2011.
- Release to parole on 6 February 2011, subject to supervision by Probation and Parole.
- Disqualified from driving for 18 months, backdated to 2 February 2009 and expiring 6 May 2011 (effectively already served).
Key Takeaways
- A blood alcohol reading of 0.204, combined with aggressive high-speed driving and permanent injury to a passenger, placed this offence at a high level of objective seriousness warranting a custodial sentence.
- Partial rationalisation of dangerous conduct, rather than genuine acceptance of wrongdoing, weighed against the offender at sentencing and contributed to a finding that his rehabilitation prospects were clouded.
- The District Court applied a 25% sentencing discount for an early guilty plea entered at the Magistrate level, reducing a notional head sentence of two years' imprisonment to an 18-month total term.
- Special circumstances were established on the basis of the offender's youth, first-time imprisonment, and the rehabilitative value of early community reintegration, justifying an equal split between the non-parole period and the balance of term rather than the standard one-third ratio.
- Where an offender's licence has been suspended from the date of the offence, a court may backdate the disqualification order to reflect the period already served under that suspension.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation:
- Section 9 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (bond referenced in breach)
- Road Transport legislation (high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol)
Cases:
- R v Whyte [2002] NSWCCA 343