Uzun v. The Queen

The applicant and his wife had been married for 24 years, but had been separated for approximately eight years at the time of the offense. The applicant was convicted of several charges, including aggravated burglary, breach of a family intervention order, making a threat to kill, and common assault. The applicant had entered the victim’s home, breaching a family-violence intervention order, and threatened to kill the victim verbally and by holding a knife to her throat. The applicant also threatened to shoot his estranged wife with a genuine-looking imitation firearm. Following a trial, the applicant was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the applicant argued that the trial judge erred in admitting tendency evidence, that the sentence was manifestly excessive, and that the trial judge failed to take into account the “crushing effect” of the sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, reasoning that “general deterrence is important in cases such as this of violence against domestic partners, so as to deter other like-minded individuals from similar offending.” The Court further reasoned that “sentences imposed for family violence should be set at a level which will send a message to those — predominantly men — who might offend violently against domestic partners or former partners or family members.” The Court also forwarded a copy of its decision to the Royal Commission on Family Violence, which was underway in Victoria at that time.