The purpose of a sentence indication is to clarify the defendant’s prospects on sentence and to dispel any concerns that might be causing the defendant to defer the decision to plead guilty. A defendant may be reluctant to indicate a plea of guilty because he/she is apprehensive about the sentence, fearing for example, that he/she will receive a conviction or a term of imprisonment. Sentence indication has been available for summary matters (charges that can be by a magistrate sitting alone in the Magistrates’ Court) at Contest Mention hearings in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria since 1993. However, sentence indication is not available in proceedings relating to indictable offences (i.e. more serious offences that are tried by a judge and jury in a higher court). What role does sentence indication play in summary proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court? There is clear statistical and anecdotal evidence from Victoria and other jurisdictions with similar arrangements, that the preliminary hearings in which sentence indication is provided are most effective (and in fact vital) in bringing contested summary matters to an early conclusion. What difference would a formal process make? Establishing a statutory for the provision of sentence indication could be expected to increase the use of this process. The informality of the current arrangement may be limiting its use and affecting the consistency of approach within the Court. An increased focus on pre-hearing preparation would, however, have implications for the commitment of prosecution and defence counsel in the early stages of contested summary proceedings. What are the potential and of introducing sentence indication in indictable proceedings? The chief concerns about the propriety and, in policy terms, the desirability of sentence indication are whether the provision of an indicative sentence would affect the
The purpose of a sentence indication is to clarify the defendant’s prospects on sentence and to dispel any concerns that might be causing the defendant to defer the decision to plead guilty. A defendant may be reluctant to indicate a plea of guilty because he/she is apprehensive about the sentence, fearing for example, that he/she will receive a conviction or a term of imprisonment. Sentence indication has been available for summary matters (charges that can be by a magistrate sitting alone in the Magistrates’ Court) at Contest Mention hearings in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria since 1993. However, sentence indication is not available in proceedings relating to indictable offences (i.e. more serious offences that are tried by a judge and jury in a higher court). What role does sentence indication play in summary proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court? There is clear statistical and anecdotal evidence from Victoria and other jurisdictions with similar arrangements, that the preliminary hearings in which sentence indication is provided are most effective (and in fact vital) in bringing contested summary matters to an early conclusion. What difference would a formal process make? Establishing a statutory for the provision of sentence indication could be expected to increase the use of this process. The informality of the current arrangement may be limiting its use and affecting the consistency of approach within the Court. An increased focus on pre-hearing preparation would, however, have implications for the commitment of prosecution and defence counsel in the early stages of contested summary proceedings. What are the potential and of introducing sentence indication in indictable proceedings? The chief concerns about the propriety and, in policy terms, the desirability of sentence indication are whether the provision of an indicative sentence would affect the
Sentence%20Indication%20and%20Specified%20Sentence%20Discounts%20Discussion%20Paper%20Summary.docx