Citation: R v Page (No 3) [2012] NSWDC 309
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 8 June 2012
Judge: Cogswell SC DCJ
Background
The offender had been sentenced on 25 May 2012 to a four-year term of imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and six months. Following that sentencing, an error was identified in the calculation of pre-sentence custody credits. Specifically, certain days had been incorrectly credited to the offender, while one day that should have been credited had been omitted.
The court re-opened the sentence proceedings to correct the commencement date of the sentence in light of this miscalculation. Both parties were heard before the amendment was made.
Legal Issues
- Whether the sentencing order required correction to reflect an accurate calculation of pre-sentence custody credits
- What the correct commencement date of the sentence and non-parole period should be following that correction
Decision
Cogswell SC DCJ amended the sentencing order to adjust the commencement date of the four-year sentence from 26 August 2011 to 29 August 2011, a shift of three days. This change reflected the net effect of removing incorrectly credited days and adding back one day that had been overlooked.
The non-parole period of two years and six months was set to commence on the same date as the sentence, 29 August 2011, expiring on 28 February 2014. The balance of term, totalling 18 months, was set to run from 1 March 2014 and expire on 28 August 2015. The overall length of the sentence and the non-parole period remained unchanged; only the commencement date shifted.
His Honour explained the correction directly to the offender in plain terms, confirming that the non-parole period, being the first date of eligibility for release subject to the Parole Authority, would be 28 February 2014.
Orders Made
- The four-year prison sentence is to commence on 29 August 2011 and expire on 28 August 2015
- The non-parole period of two years and six months is to commence on 29 August 2011 and expire on 28 February 2014
- The balance of term of 18 months is to commence on 1 March 2014 and expire on 28 August 2015
Key Takeaways
- The District Court exercised its power to re-open sentencing proceedings to correct an error in the calculation of pre-sentence custody credits
- A net miscalculation of three days in credited pre-sentence custody can warrant formal amendment of a sentencing order, even where the overall sentence length remains unchanged
- Adjusting the commencement date of a sentence does not necessarily alter the length of the non-parole period or the balance of term; those periods shift in tandem with the corrected start date
- Where both a crediting error and an omission are identified, the court will calculate the net effect before amending the order rather than treating each error in isolation
Legislation and Cases Referenced
No legislation or cases were cited in the judgment text or metadata.