Sentence Discounts and the Criminal Process by Ralph J Henham

Author:Ralph J Henham [Henham, Ralph J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General
ISBN: 9781351807807
Google: -r02DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-09-20T03:28:22+00:00

2 The Magistrates Court

Introduction

This section reports the results of an empirical investigation into the operation of sentence discounts in two magistrates courts in the East Midlands in 1981.1 It focuses particularly on the way in which magistrates approach the sentence discount decision required by s48 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and discusses (inter alia) the extent to which magistrates allow a one-third sentence discount for a guilty plea, the relationship between the strength of the prosecution case and the sentence discount, and the extent to which a timely guilty plea affects the choice between a custodial and non-custodial sentence. Magistrates’ use of sentence discounts with regard to different sentences, and the extent to which magistrates receive guidance on the use of sentence discounts are also examined. The section begins by describing the socio-legal context in which sentence discounts operate, in the magistrates’ court, and, following description of the research methodology and presentation of the results, concludes with an assessment of the implications of the research for sentencing policy and practice.

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