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District Court 7 February 2012

R v Mathew John RIDGEWAY (No 2)

[2012] NSWDC 54

Assault & violenceTheft & property
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE CORRECTION.

Citation: R v Mathew John Ridgeway (No 2) [2012] NSWDC 54
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 7 February 2012
Judge: Cogswell SC DCJ

Background

On 1 February 2012, the District Court sentenced an offender following convictions for aggravated robbery (robbery in company) and kidnapping. A motor vehicle stealing offence was also taken into account under s 32 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

After the original sentence was imposed, a court officer identified a potential error regarding whether the sentences had been structured correctly as an aggregate. That query prompted the judge to review the sentences closely, revealing at least one error in the original orders. A further error concerning the non-parole period also came to light when the parties appeared before the court on 7 February 2012.

The court reconvened to correct those errors and re-impose the sentences in their corrected form.

  • Whether the sentences originally imposed on 1 February 2012 contained errors requiring correction.
  • What the correct sentence structure, non-parole periods, and release dates should be once those errors were remedied.

Decision

The court corrected the sentences and re-imposed them. For the aggravated robbery, the offender received a sentence of 5 years and 6 months, dating from 17 January 2011 and expiring 16 July 2016, with a non-parole period of 4 years expiring 16 January 2015. For the kidnapping, the court imposed 6 years and 6 months imprisonment from 17 January 2012, expiring 16 July 2018, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 10 months expiring 16 November 2015.

The overall effective sentence remained unchanged at 7 years and 6 months, commencing 17 January 2011 and expiring 16 July 2018. However, the corrected overall non-parole period was reduced to 4 years and 10 months, meaning the earliest eligible release date became 16 November 2015, approximately 1 year and 5 months earlier than the date stated in the original sentence.

The court noted that the effective non-parole period, at just over 64 per cent of the total term, was lower than the standard 75 per cent. This reduction reflected the offender's circumstances in custody, specifically that he was being held in segregation.

Orders Made

  • Aggravated robbery (robbery in company): 5 years and 6 months imprisonment from 17 January 2011, expiring 16 July 2016; non-parole period of 4 years expiring 16 January 2015; balance of term 1 year and 6 months from 17 January 2015 to 16 July 2016.
  • Kidnapping: 6 years and 6 months imprisonment from 17 January 2012, expiring 16 July 2018; non-parole period of 3 years and 10 months from 17 January 2012, expiring 16 November 2015; balance of term 2 years and 8 months from 17 November 2015 to 16 July 2018.
  • Overall effective sentence: 7 years and 6 months from 17 January 2011, expiring 16 July 2018.
  • Overall effective non-parole period: 4 years and 10 months from 17 January 2011, expiring 16 November 2015.
  • Motor vehicle stealing offence taken into account under s 32 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
  • Existing orders regarding the s 166 certificate and the audiovisual link for 29 February 2012 remained on foot.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court exercised its power to correct sentencing errors after a court officer identified a structural problem in the original orders, demonstrating that such errors can and should be remedied promptly.
  • Arithmetic or structural errors in sentencing documents can have material consequences for an offender, here producing a non-parole period that was nearly 17 months longer than the corrected figure.
  • Where an offender is held in segregation, this can constitute a circumstance of custody warranting a reduction in the effective non-parole period below the standard 75 per cent benchmark.
  • Under s 32 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, a court may take additional offences into account on sentence without imposing a separate penalty for each; here, the motor vehicle stealing offence was dealt with in that manner.
  • No change was made to the total term of imprisonment; only the non-parole period required correction, leaving the overall sentence of 7 years and 6 months intact.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), s 32 (taking further offences into account)
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s 166 (certificates)

Cases cited: None cited in the judgment.