Sunday, 6 September 2009

Aboriginals before the courts

I have just read a very interesting document that explains the Fernando Principles. These principles are applied in NSW when sentencing Aboriginals for serious crimes.

I've never seen these principles articulated before, and I found the document to be quite thoughtful. However, the bit that grabbed me was the appendix. Have a look through the 50 or 60 names listed and tell me whether this reads like a list of names that you might find in say the English courts in Essex. Apart from number two (Jabaltjari), this looks more like a list of white men being sentenced.

What do I conclude?

That 98% of these men are Aboriginal in the way that I am Welsh. I have been back to the valleys of Wales, and seen the places like Ffestiniog that we came from many years ago, but that doesn't mean that I have a clue how to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngll.

APPENDIX I: SELECTED LIST OF CASES DEALING WITH THE SENTENCING OF ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS

E (A Child) (1995) 66 A Crim R 14.

Jabaltjari v Hammersley (1977) 15 ALR 94.

Logan v R [2003] NSWCCA 185.

Neal v R (1982) 149 CLR 305.

R v Abbott [2002] NSWCCA 389.

R v Ah See [1999] NSWCCA 175.

R v Bell [2003] NSWCCA 132.

R v Harold Brown [2000] NSWCCA 548.

R v Burke [2000] NSWSC 356.

R v Campbell [2000] NSWCCA 429.

R v Ceissman [2001] NSWCCA 73.

R v Christian [2002] NSWCCA 264.

R v Cohen [2002] NSWCCA 339.

R v David Cook [1999] NSWCCA 234.

R v Daniel [1998] 1 Qd R 499.

R v Dargin [2000] NSWSC 710.

R v Davidson [2003] NSWCCA 11.

R v Dennis [2003] NSWCCA 137.

R v Drew [2000] NSWCCA 384.

R v Elemes [2000] NSWCCA 235.

R v Stanley Edward Fernando (1992) 72 A Crim R 58.

R v Stanley John Fernando [2002] NSWCCA 28.

R v Gardener [2003] NSWCCA 2.

R v Garvey [2003] NSWCCA 226.

R v Gordon (1994) 71 A Crim R 459.

R v Grant [2001] NSWSC 552.

R v Hickey Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 27 September 1994.

R v Thomas John Hickey; R v Joseph Martin Hickey [2003] NSWCCA 110.

R v Hunt [2003] NSWCCA 301.

R v Kelly [2000] NSWSC 701.

R v Kennedy [2000] NSWSC 109.

R v Kerr [2003] NSWCCA 234.

R v Kirkwood [2001] NSWCCA 184.

R v Lake [2003] NSWCCA 27.

R v Alan Leonard Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 22 November 1996.

R v Cynthia Leonard Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 22 April 1996.

R v Kenneth Leonard [2000] NSWCCA 318.

R v Locke [2000] NSWCCA 19.

R v MLW [2001] NSWCCA 133.

R v MacFarlane [2002] NSWCCA 250.

R v Martin [2002] NSWSC 577.

R v Melrose [2001] NSWSC 847.

R v Darren Morgan [2003] NSWCCA 230.

R v Leonard Morgan [2003] NSWCCA 284.

R v Murray [2003] NSWCCA 209.

R v Patten [2003] NSWCCA 33.

R v Peckham [2003] NSWCCA 293.

R v Petersen [2000] NSWCCA 47.

R v Pheeney Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 3 April 1998.

R v Pitt [2001] NSWCCA 156.

R v Powell [2000] NSWCCA 108.

R v RLS [2000] NSWCCA 175.

R v Randall [2002] NSWCCA 239.

R v Raymond Reid [2001] NSWSC 1084.

R v Ridgeway Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 16 July 1998.

R v Rogers and Murray (1989) 44 A Crim R 301.

R v Russell (1995) 85 A Crim R 386.

R v Keith Ryan [2000] NSWCCA 98.

R v Lana Ryan [2002] NSWCCA 171.

R v Timothy Smith [2000] NSWCCA 148.

R v Stanley [2003] NSWCCA 233.

R v Stone (1995) 84 A Crim R 218.

R v Strong [2003] NSWCCA 123.

R v Thomas [2003] NSWCCA 165.

R v Timbery Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 1 April 1996.

R v Toomey Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 22 July 1998.

R v Walford [2001] NSWCCA 200.

R v Walker Unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 20 November 1995.

R v Walkington [2003] NSWSC 517.

R v Webb [2002] NSWSC 618.

R v Weldon [2002] NSWCCA 308.

R v Whitfield [2002] NSWCCA 501.

1 comment:

mez said...

how silly of me! it's so simple - now we know how to tell if 'they' are aboriginal: by their SURNAME!