Sentence
If you are found guilty, or have pleaded guilty, the court will then go on to consider how to sentence you. At this point the court will be told of any previous convictions you may have.
Sentences available to the court range from discharges and fines through community penalties such as community rehabilitation and punishment orders up to custody. Variations of these are available in the Youth Court.
If a compensation order is asked for, the Court should make one or state their reasons for not doing so. They must take account of your ability to pay compensation or a fine and will normally fix a weekly or monthly rate of payment into the court that you can afford. If the court later finds you have deliberately avoided paying you can be sent to prison.
If considering a community penalty, the court will normally adjourn for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service. They must do so if considering custody unless, when dealing with an adult, the court deems it unnecessary. Reports are sometimes prepared within a few days or otherwise between two to four weeks and, although the right to bail no longer applies, there is a presumption that if you are already on bail this will be continued. Where the court has a specific sentence in mind, reports can be provided on the spot.
Imprisonment can be imposed only where the court considers the offence and associated offences so serious that only a prison sentence is appropriate. Where sentencing for more than one offence, the court must not simply add up the sentences passed for the individual offences but must review the totality of the sentence. Credit is normally given for pleas of guilty in the form of a reduction of a sentence, up to a maximum of one-third, depending on how soon the guilty plea was notified to the prosecution.
Before you are sentenced, you can tell the court of any mitigating factors relating to yourself or the offence and call character witnesses or submit written character references to the court. The court may also require medical or psychiatric reports before passing sentence. The court should not pass a sentence of imprisonment on you without giving you the opportunity to be legally represented.
The government has passed a great many provisions relating to sentencing in recent years, particularly in relation to offences of a violent or sexual nature, where offenders may be deemed ‘dangerous’. These give judges greater powers but reduce their discretion. A judge should warn you where any power such as the imposition of an extended sentence is available and you should certainly seek representation if you do not already have it.
If you are sentenced to imprisonment the court may order sentences of no more than a year to be suspended for no more than two years while you comply with conditions set by the court and keep out of trouble. If sentenced to immediate imprisonment you normally serve half the sentence in custody after which you are released on licence subject to conditions, such as attending supervision, undergoing treatment for drug or alcohol problems or whatever else the Probation officer may think necessary to keep you out of trouble. If you break the conditions your licence may be revoked, and you could be rearrested and returned to prison to serve the remainder of your sentence without going to court.
Greater powers of confiscation have recently been introduced which enable the courts to assume that the assets of offenders convicted of offences such as drug trafficking or fraud are the proceeds of crime and seize them, unless the defendant can prove otherwise.
Sentences available to the court range from discharges and fines through community penalties such as community rehabilitation and punishment orders up to custody. Variations of these are available in the Youth Court.
If a compensation order is asked for, the Court should make one or state their reasons for not doing so. They must take account of your ability to pay compensation or a fine and will normally fix a weekly or monthly rate of payment into the court that you can afford. If the court later finds you have deliberately avoided paying you can be sent to prison.
If considering a community penalty, the court will normally adjourn for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service. They must do so if considering custody unless, when dealing with an adult, the court deems it unnecessary. Reports are sometimes prepared within a few days or otherwise between two to four weeks and, although the right to bail no longer applies, there is a presumption that if you are already on bail this will be continued. Where the court has a specific sentence in mind, reports can be provided on the spot.
Imprisonment can be imposed only where the court considers the offence and associated offences so serious that only a prison sentence is appropriate. Where sentencing for more than one offence, the court must not simply add up the sentences passed for the individual offences but must review the totality of the sentence. Credit is normally given for pleas of guilty in the form of a reduction of a sentence, up to a maximum of one-third, depending on how soon the guilty plea was notified to the prosecution.
Before you are sentenced, you can tell the court of any mitigating factors relating to yourself or the offence and call character witnesses or submit written character references to the court. The court may also require medical or psychiatric reports before passing sentence. The court should not pass a sentence of imprisonment on you without giving you the opportunity to be legally represented.
The government has passed a great many provisions relating to sentencing in recent years, particularly in relation to offences of a violent or sexual nature, where offenders may be deemed ‘dangerous’. These give judges greater powers but reduce their discretion. A judge should warn you where any power such as the imposition of an extended sentence is available and you should certainly seek representation if you do not already have it.
If you are sentenced to imprisonment the court may order sentences of no more than a year to be suspended for no more than two years while you comply with conditions set by the court and keep out of trouble. If sentenced to immediate imprisonment you normally serve half the sentence in custody after which you are released on licence subject to conditions, such as attending supervision, undergoing treatment for drug or alcohol problems or whatever else the Probation officer may think necessary to keep you out of trouble. If you break the conditions your licence may be revoked, and you could be rearrested and returned to prison to serve the remainder of your sentence without going to court.
Greater powers of confiscation have recently been introduced which enable the courts to assume that the assets of offenders convicted of offences such as drug trafficking or fraud are the proceeds of crime and seize them, unless the defendant can prove otherwise.
