The respondent, CKG, was on parole when he committed two robbery offences. He was arrested and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for four years with a non-parole period of three years. His sentence was backdated to April 2016 with his sentences fully concurrent with his parole revocation. CKG had an early plea of guilty and he received a 25% discount on his sentences.
The Crown appealed this judgment on the basis of manifest inadequacy and arguing that the sentence should not have been backdated. This was especially given the seriousness of the offences as contended by the Crown and that were committed, and that he had had his bail revoked on parole.
The firm represented CKG in NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. We argued that the offences were not as serious and that even if it could be considered within the middle range of seriousness the offences could not be considered manifestly inadequate. CKG’s medical condition was also a relevant consideration as to his prospects of rehabilitation.
In the result, the CCA accepted that notwithstanding the sentence being relatively lenient at first instance, it was not manifestly inadequate for CKG. The CCA declared that the judgment was appropriate, and the appeal from The Crown was dismissed.
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