Gravity of the Offence and the Circumstances of the Offending
Jenny (the ‘accused’) has pleaded guilty of 5 counts of trafficking and possession of a drug of dependence under the Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic). During a random search, the police found ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine and LSD in Jenny’s car; whilst commercial amounts of cannabis was later found in Jenny’s rented property.
Pursuant to the first and second charge, police found 3317 ecstasy tablets and 1.44kg of dried cannabis and 116 cannabis plants, weighing 969.8g and 80.78kg respectively. This amounts to trafficking of a drug of dependence in a commercial quantity under s 71AA Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic). On this charge,…show more content… With a maximum penalty of 25-years, the legislation indicates the seriousness of the offence and is an important factor in the sentence to be allocated. Under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, once the accused plead guilty to the charge for the offence at the first available opportunity, the court must not impose a more severe type of sentence than the type of sentence indicated. The act of a guilty plea may show remorse and a willingness to work with authorities. However, despite this, the accused’s bad character, repeated offence and addiction to cannabis are factors that the judge would have to take into account during sentencing.
Another consideration the courts may take into account is that the accused is a single mother. She has a family responsibility as the sole carer of her son Mark who is 12-years of age. If the accused is to be imprisoned, there would be no other person who could adequately care for her son as Mark’s father is a chronic drug user in jail and his aunt has terminal cancer.
The relevant sentencing principles and purposes appropriate to this case
Principles
Sentencing principles have developed through legislation and the common law. It currently form the basis of sentencing decisions. These principles include parity, proportionality, and…show more content… The court must ensure that the sentence handed down is just and appropriate given the overall criminality of the offending behaviour. The accused has pleaded guilty of 5 counts of offences, which if linearly added will result in a very long sentence. This would be an incorrect sentencing as it does not accurately reflect the overall criminality of the offending behaviour. The five offence charges should be held concurrently to avoid facing a disproportionate sentence which can have a crushing effect on the
