Zirilli v. The Queen

Lower Court Judgment

30/11/2012 Supreme Court of Victoria (Court of Appeal) (Maxwell P, Harper JA and T Forrest JA)

[2012] VSCA 288

Catchwords

Criminal law – Sentencing – Crown submission on sentencing range – Appellants convicted of conspiracy to traffic in commercial quantity of controlled drug and sentenced to 26 years imprisonment – Trial judge refused to hear prosecution’s submission on appropriate sentencing range and imposed sentences higher than the range the prosecutor would have proposed – Whether trial judge erred in refusing to hear the prosecution’s submission on sentencing range – Whether refusal to hear prosecutions’ submission on sentencing range constitutes a denial of procedural fairness – Whether prosecution’s submission on sentencing range was a relevant consideration in sentencing – Whether R v MacNeil-Brown (2008) 20 VR 677 is good law.

Short Particulars