5.5 Sentencing - hearings 2

Question 1

What are the four main steps in a sentencing hearing?

Answer 1

1.
Decide the factual basis of sentence;
2.
Prosecution opens facts, makes submissions and applications;
3.
Defence mitigates;
4.
Judge passes sentence.

Question 2

What are the five purposes of sentencing?

Answer 2

Section 142(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003
(a)
punishment of offenders;
(b)
reduction of crime (including by deterrence);
(c)
reform and rehabilitation of offenders;
(d)
protection of the public;
(e)
making reparation by offenders to persons affected by their offence.

Question 3

What must the court take into account when deciding the seriousness of the offence?

Answer 3

Section 143(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003
Culpability and harm

Question 4

What is the custody threshold?

Answer 4

Section 152 Criminal Justice Act 2003
The court must not pass a custodial sentence unless it is of the opinion that the offence… was so serious that neither a fine nor a community sentence can be justified…

Question 5

What is the community threshold?

Answer 5

Section 148 Criminal Justice Act 2003
A court must not pass a community sentence on an offender unless it is of the opinion that the offence… was serious enough to warrant such a sentence.

Question 6

What is the test for ‘dangerousness’?

Answer 6

Section 229(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003
(a)
a person has been convicted of a specified offence, and
(b)
… whether there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of further such offences.

Schedule 15 lists the specified offences.

Question 7

What offences must the court take into account when deciding whether D is dangerous?

Answer 7

R v Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864
1.
The court must take into account the instant offence;
2.
The may take into account pretty much anything else.

Question 8

How much credit can an offender get for a guilty plea?

Answer 8

Maximum:

1. At first opportunity - 1/3
2. At PTPH - 1/4
3. At day of trial - 1/10.

Question 9

What must the judge explain to D on passing sentence?

Answer 9

1.
In non-technical language 
2.
The Sentencing Guidelines followed or why they were not followed 
3.
Why D passes the custodial threshold (if relevant)
4.
Credit for guilty plea (if relevant)
5.
Any aggravating and mitigating factors.

Question 10

What is the purpose of the totality principle?

Answer 10

To ensure that the overall sentence is just and proportionate.

Question 11

On what criteria will the judge decide whether to award consecutive or concurrent sentences for multiple offences?

Answer 11

1.
Concurrent: where the offences arise from the same or substantially the same facts.
2.
Consecutive: where the offences arise out of different facts.

Question 12

How long can the court defer sentence?

Answer 12

Section 1 PCC(S)A
Up to 6 months.

[??]
The Crown Court has the option to defer for a further 6 months.

Question 13

What are the conditions for deferring sentence?

Answer 13

1.
D must consent;
2.
D must undertake to comply with requirements set by the court; and
3.
The court is satisfied that deferment is in the interests of justice.