sentencing

Question 1

what will the court use to help with sentencing

Answer 1

they will order a pre sentencing report compiled by probation the service which provides great detail about the offence and defendant or medical reports

Question 2

which act outlines the aims of sentencing

Answer 2

section 142 of the criminal justice act 2003

Question 3

describe are the six aims of sentencing

Answer 3

• punishment (seeks retribution, society expects that criminals are punished, does not seek to reform the offender although it could be argued that punishment acts as a deterrent)
• reform and rehabilitate (hope to alter the defendants behaviour so that they can be rehabilitated back into society) ,
• public protection (public needs protection from dangerous criminals that commit violent or sexual offences. Imprisonment removes these criminals from society but other sentences such as curfews, tags or banning driving also protect the public),
• reduction of crime (individual- ensures that the offender does not reoffend in fear of future punishment, general- deters the general public from committing crime out of fear of punishment),
• reparation (compensation to the vitim, usually an offender is ordered to pay a sum of money to the victim or make a restoration, offenders can also be made to make a reparation to society such as by completing unpaid work),
• denunciation (although not included in the act is it till an important aim of punishment, society expresses outrage at the behaviour of a criminal and condemns it, an example of this is local newspapers which feature sections ‘naming and shaming’ criminals.

Question 4

what are the four main options a judge has when sentencing a defendant and other powers held by the court

Answer 4

1. custody 2. community order 3. fine 4. discharge

other powers are disqualifying a defendant from driving or compensation orders to the victim

Question 5

describe a fine

Answer 5

• police and parking people can issue a fine on the spot
• fines can be determined on a case by case basis
• if you don’t have the money it will be detatched from your earnings
• much more common in the magistrates court
• likely to be for strict liability offences or summary offences

Question 6

describe community orders

Answer 6

s77 of the criminal justice act 2003 sets out a range of community orders that can be set.
-unpaid work requirement, a judge can order 40-240 hours of unpaid work to a defendant, it will usually be something that benefits the wider community

Question 7

what are four sentences specific to youths under what act

Answer 7

under the criminal justice and immigration act 2008 youths can be given alcohol rehabilitation, mental health support, an exclusion requirement and unpaid work (16+)

Question 8

describe the four types of custodial sentence

Answer 8

• mandatory life sentence ( only available for murder, life does not usually mean life, minimum starting sentence is 12 years, life can mean life for the most serious murders such as the murder of children with abduction/ sexual motive or for the purpose of advancing a racial or religious belief. An example of a D who received full life is Dale Cregan.
• Discretionary life sentence (can be given if the offence allows this eg s18 GBH, serious offences other than murder).
• Fixed term sentence (judge imposes a minimum of years to be served, the general rule is that D serves half of this time. Most common custodial sentence. EG if D commits ABH they can have a fixed term sentence
• suspended sentence (used when D is likely to receive a custodial sentence of less than two years, sentence can be suspended for up to two years and the sentence will be triggered if they commit another offence in this time)

Question 9

what are the two types of discharge

Answer 9

1. absolute discharge, when D has technically committed an offence but is not actually morally blameworthy a judge can say that they will not be formally punished
2. conditional discharge- formal punishment is not necessary but there is a condition that D cannot offend again during a set period of up to 3 years (if they do then previous offence will be taken into consideration)

Question 10

what sic factors will judges/ magistrates consider when sentencing

Answer 10

1. relevant report 2. aggravating factors 3. mitigating factors 4. previous convictions 5. seriousness of the offence 6. sentencing guidelines from the sentencing council

Question 11

what additional powers do magistrates have

Answer 11

under the powers of criminal courts act 2000 the magistrates may send a conviction to the crown court if they believe are greater sentence than what they’re able to give is necessary

Question 12

give three examples of mitigating and aggravating factors

Answer 12

aggravating: racially motivated, not cooperating with police, use of weapon
mitigating: genuine remorse, assisting victim, early guilty plea

Question 13

explain previous convictions, seriousness of the offence and any other factors that will be considered

Answer 13

• previous convictions (the more previous convictions a defendant has the more serious their conviction will be, previous conviction will not be made knows to a judge until liability is established)
• seriousness of the offence (judges will be more lenient with summary offences, indictable offences are likely to get a more serious punishment)
• other (judges may consider a defendants age and health)