Wang v R [2021] NSWCCA 282

Wang v R [2021] NSWCCA 282

Leave to appeal was granted because of the seriousness of the case and the substantial sentence, but the appeal was dismissed. The further psychiatric report was not admitted because its opinions could have been provided before sentence, the applicant had presented her case through experienced counsel using two reports from the same psychiatrist, and the sentencing judge's findings were open on the agreed facts and CCTV footage. The judge was entitled to find only a limited impairment of self-control and to reject any broader causal link reducing moral culpability. The error concerning the term imposed in R v Cullen was trivial and could not have affected the sentencing discretion. The...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
01 December 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence Following Sentence for Murder in the Supreme Court
Outcome
Leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'domestic Violence' 'sentence Appeal' 'fresh or New Evidence on Appeal' 'mental Illness and Moral Culpability' 'reasonable Consistency of Sentencing' 'manifest Excess' 'guilty Plea']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['murder' 'domestic Violence' 'sentence Appeal' 'fresh or New Evidence on Appeal' 'mental Illness and Moral Culpability' 'reasonable Consistency of Sentencing' 'manifest Excess' 'guilty Plea']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence Following Sentence for Murder in the Supreme Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether a miscarriage of justice resulted from the absence at sentence of a further psychiatric report obtained after sentence concerning the applicant's depression, formation of intent to kill, and childhood background." "Whether the sentencing judge's erroneous reference to the sentence in R v Cullen as 30 years and 6 months rather than 30 years affected the sentencing discretion." 'Whether the sentencing judge failed to ensure reasonable consistency of sentence by reference to comparable cases.' 'Whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.']

Ratio Decidendi

Leave to appeal was granted because of the seriousness of the case and the substantial sentence, but the appeal was dismissed. The further psychiatric report was not admitted because its opinions could have been provided before sentence, the applicant had presented her case through experienced counsel using two reports from the same psychiatrist, and the sentencing judge's findings were open on the agreed facts and CCTV footage. The judge was entitled to find only a limited impairment of self-control and to reject any broader causal link reducing moral culpability. The error concerning the term imposed in R v Cullen was trivial and could not have affected the sentencing discretion. The...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Leave to appeal against sentence granted.' 'Appeal against sentence dismissed.']