The defendant appealed his sentences for several offences. He had been given the maximum sentence of 24 months detention. No discount had been given for his guilty plea, nor for time already spent in custody. The judge described the offences as disgusting.
Held: Some discount must be given for the guilty plea. That was established in case law, and now enshrined in the Act (s 152). Exceptions apply where a maximum sentence is required to protect the public, where the plea was tactical or inevitable, or where the count was a specimen count. Reay also suggested an exception where the case was so serious as to require a maximum sentence in the public interest. Those exceptions did not apply in this case. Counsel are generally correct to advise defendants of the availability of discounts for guilty pleas, but that advice must be appropriate to the context. However, there is no general requirement that a specific period of credit must be given to an offender sentenced to a Detention and Training Order for time spent in custody on remand. The requirement to take account of time spent on remand is not a simple requirement to give credit for that time.
Judges:
Lord Justice Buxton Mrs. Justice Rafferty And Mr. Justice Gross
Citations:
[2002] EWCA Crim 551
Links:
Statutes:
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 101 152
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Raymond Reay 1992
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Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.168000