Bugmy in the Courtroom: Ensuring Fair and Just Outcomes for 'Profoundly Deprived' Offenders - Preliminary Findings

In October 2023 it will be 10 years since the High Court’s judgement William David Bugmy v The Queen (Bugmy). This project undertakes an assessment of the manner in which the Victorian County Court and Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal dealt with the principles arising from the original High Court judgement. The specific purpose of the research was to apply a practical lens in examining the manner in which Bugmy applications before the Victorian County Court were dealt with. This included an assessment of 105 County Court ‘Bugmy judgements’ from 2022 and a number of related judgements of the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal. The assessment of the 2022 Bugmy judgements assisted in identifying a number of key issues which in turn provided the focus of interviews with 15 criminal law Barristers and eight County Court judges. This research is not seeking to address the actions or initiatives that may be taken in relation to the matters raised, rather it is seeking to identify, through the views of Judges and Counsel, key matters concerning courtroom processes in dealing with Bugmy matters. In that regard, the approach taken provides a unique insight into the views of Judges and Counsel concerning their perceptions of various issues relating to ‘Bugmy in the Courtroom’. Arguably, the strongest thread of discussion throughout the interviews was the concern to ensure that Bugmy initiatives were responsive to the needs of profoundly deprived offenders. This was a matter that was evident in the discussions relating to low and high thresholds of deprivation and, it is notable that notwithstanding the different approaches, they were all focussed on ensuring that Bugmy processes were relevant and appropriate. In this regard there were strong expressions of the need for both Judges and Counsel to address what was referred to as being ‘trauma informed’. While opinions and views varied among the participants, they shared a commitment directed at developing the most effective and just sentencing framework based on the Bugmy principles.