The defendant sought to challenge his committal for sentence saying that at the earlier hearing he had been given to understand that his sentence would not be so severe. His case had been adjourned for pre-sentence reports. All options had been left open, but he was not committed for sentence.
Held: The magistrates had been clearly wrong to retain jurisdiction: ‘If the sentence which they envisaged, namely a maximum of twelve months, was unavailable to the magistrates as a matter of law, then any expectation created by them would not be a legitimate expectation as one which could not be and should not be enforced in judicial review proceedings.’
Judges:
Stanley Burnton J
Citations:
[2005] EWHC 3166 (Admin)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Magistrates, Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 18 July 2022; Ref: scu.238420