Cumberland v The Queen

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIABELL, GAGELER AND NETTLE JJJESSE CUMBERLAND  APPELLANTANDTHE QUEEN  RESPONDENTCumberland v The Queen[2020] HCA 21Date of Hearing: 15 April 2020Date of Order: 15 April 2020Date of Publication of Reasons: 3 June 2020D23/2019ORDER1. Appeal allowed.2.The orders of the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory made on 19 June 2019 are set aside and in lieu thereof it is ordered that the appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal is dismissed.On appeal from the Supreme Court of the Northern TerritoryRepresentationM E Shaw QC with S A McDonald and M W Thomas for the appellant (instructed by Peter McQueen, Solicitor)M W Nathan SC for the respondent (instructed by Director of Public Prosecutions (NT))Notice:  This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.CATCHWORDSCumberland v The Queen Criminal practice – Appeal – Crown appeal against sentence – Where appellant sentenced on pleas of guilty to six offences arising out of course of commercial dealing in cannabis plant material and MDMA – Where prosecution appealed against sentence on ground of manifest inadequacy – Where three-member Bench of Court of Criminal Appeal ("CCA") heard appeal and announced intention to allow appeal but referred relevant question of statutory construction to five‑member Bench – Where eleven months after initial hearing, CCA delivered judgment of five-member Bench, then immediately re-constituted to deliver judgment of three-member Bench, allowing appeal and re-sentencing to increased term of imprisonment – Where appellant not given...