Citation: R v Ranjbarian [2021] NSWDC 660
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 15 September 2021
Judge(s): Bourke SC DCJ
Background
The offender was sentenced for two principal offences arising from a police-controlled operation that ran from mid-2018. The first was a Commonwealth offence of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine between July 2018 and February 2019, contrary to ss 307.1(1) and 11.5(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The second was a State offence of knowingly taking part in the supply of 200 grams of methamphetamine on 30 January 2019, under s 25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (maximum 15 years imprisonment).
The offender and a co-conspirator, working with a police informant known as Witness A, planned to import methamphetamine concealed in coconuts from Thailand in bi-monthly shipments. After a dry run with no drugs, that plan was abandoned in favour of a second scheme to import the drug hidden in dishwashing tablets from Turkey. That second conspiracy was taken into account on a s 16BA schedule at sentencing. Separately, the offender passed 200 grams of methamphetamine to Witness A in January 2019, with two earlier supply transactions in December 2018 taken into account on a Form 1.
Pleas of guilty were entered the day after the trial was due to commence, making them very late. The offender had previously been in custody from February 2019 to January 2021 and returned to custody in September 2021.
Legal Issues
- What discount applied to the late guilty plea for the Commonwealth offence, where the legislation does not specify a fixed quantum?
- Whether the offender's assistance in translating Farsi intercept materials warranted an additional sentencing discount.
- What weight should be given to the offender's personal circumstances, including his first time in custody, in determining whether special circumstances existed justifying a variation of the standard non-parole period ratio.
- How to structure concurrent and cumulative sentences across Commonwealth and State offences while respecting totality principles.
Decision
His Honour applied a 5% discount for the utilitarian value of the guilty plea to both the State and Commonwealth offences. For the Commonwealth matter, an additional 5% discount was granted because the offender had worked with his lawyers to translate Farsi telephone intercepts and listening device recordings. The District Court found this assistance not only had utilitarian value for the Crown's trial preparation but also reflected a willingness to facilitate the course of justice.
For the State supply offence, the court sentenced the offender to a fixed term of 2 years imprisonment, declining to set a non-parole period on the basis that any parole period would be absorbed within the Commonwealth sentence. The starting point was 3 years 6 months, reduced to 3 years 4 months after the 5% plea discount, with a finding of special circumstances based on the offender's first time in custody.
For the principal Commonwealth conspiracy count (taking into account the s 16BA schedule offence), the court set a starting point of 9 years, reduced by approximately 10% for the plea and cooperation to arrive at a head sentence of 8 years, with a non-parole period of 4 years 6 months.
To give effect to totality principles and avoid a crushing sentence that would destroy rehabilitation prospects, the sentences were made partially concurrent rather than fully cumulative. The State sentence was backdated to commence 1 October 2019, with the Commonwealth sentence commencing 1 July 2020, nine months later.
Orders Made
- State offence (knowingly take part in supply, 200 grams): fixed term of 2 years imprisonment, commencing 1 October 2019 and expiring 30 September 2021; no non-parole period set.
- Commonwealth offence (conspiracy to import commercial quantity of methamphetamine, with s 16BA schedule matter taken into account): head sentence of 8 years imprisonment, commencing 1 July 2020 and expiring 30 June 2028; non-parole period of 4 years 6 months, expiring 31 December 2024.
- Total effective sentence: head sentence of 8 years 9 months; non-parole period of 5 years 3 months.
- Earliest eligibility for parole consideration: 31 December 2024.
Key Takeaways
- A late guilty plea (entered the day after trial was due to begin) attracted only a 5% discount for utilitarian value, reflecting the limited practical benefit to the courts and prosecution at that stage.
- Where legislation does not prescribe a fixed discount quantum for a Commonwealth guilty plea, the sentencing court retains a discretion to assess the appropriate reduction based on the utilitarian value of the plea.
- Assistance in translating foreign-language intercept evidence, while not a conventional form of cooperation with authorities, can constitute a basis for an additional sentencing discount where it materially assists the Crown's preparation for trial.
- Special circumstances (justifying a departure from the standard non-parole period ratio) were found where the offender was serving his first period of custody, recognising the heightened need for supervised reintegration.
- In sentencing across Commonwealth and State offences arising from related but distinct criminal conduct, partial concurrency rather than full accumulation can satisfy both the requirement to reflect the separate criminality and the totality principle's concern against sentences that would crush rehabilitation prospects.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995, ss 307.1(1), 11.5(1)
- Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
- Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), s 25(1)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
Cases
- Doudar v R [2021] NSWCCA 37
- Gore v R [2010] NSWCCA 330
- Mbele v R [2021] NSWCCA 182
- Moody v R [2020] NSWCCA 160
- Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120