Free Law Dissertations - Sentencing And Enforcement A.the Facts Of The Case Counsel For The
Sentencing and Enforcement
A.The Facts of the Case
Counsel for the defendant is under an obligation to provide the court with the facts of the case, not only for consideration of criminality, but for consideration of the sentencing (R v Newton (1982)). The facts are as follows:
The offender was apprehended by a passing inspector while off duty as he witnessed two girls struggling in the middle of a square in Richmond. One of the girls was shouting at the top of her voice for help, claiming that she was being robbed by the other girl, who was ‘small and shabbily attired.’ The inspector noted that none of the onlookers helped during this bright, summer afternoon. He apprehended the assailant as she tried to struggle free from the victim who held her fast. The police arrived to find the offender restrained by the inspector and the purse belonging to the victim was in her right hand.
The victim’s statement made by the duty police officers stated that she had been in the middle of a phone call to a friend when the offender swung open the door to the phone booth and claimed to have a gun that she would use on the victim if she did not hand over her purse immediately. The victim reached for the hand that purported to hold the gun only to find that it was a lighter. It was then that the offender reached over and grabbed the purse but the victim restrained her and was hit across the nose. It was here that the struggle ensued.
The offender was charged with theft and battery it was conclusively ascertained during the course of the trial that the motive for the theft was for the raising of funds to feed a heroine addiction. The offender was not in possession of any drugs at the time of apprehension. The police report states that, at the time of handing over of the offender to the police, the offender was erratic and showed signs of withdrawal. This was later confirmed by a medical expert who examined the offender at the police station and produced a report that corroborated the suspicions of the police, which were recorded in separate reports and presented in court. At the time of this offence, the offender was nineteen years of age and had been convicted for no other offences in her lifetime. During the trial, the offender pleaded guilty to the offence of theft and battery.
B.Applicable Law
Counsel is under a duty to know the law of sentencing inside out so as to be efficient in the task of pleading circumstances for mitigation and making general recommendations with regard to the form of sentencing (Inns of Court Law School, 2000/2001, also, R v Kornsta (1990))’
There are three primary sources of sentencing Law in England and Wales:
1.Statutes
The provision of laws on sentencing provide only guidelines or maximum and minimum criteria that are coupled with similar limitations for each type of court.
Dissertations - Free Law Dissertations
