LinkOBJECTIVES OF SENTENCING

In determining the appropriate sentence for the commission of a given offence, it is important to understand the OBJECTIVES of sentencing generally. These usually include:-

denouncing unlawful conduct;

deterring the offender and other persons from committing such offences;

separating offenders from society, where necessary;

assisting in rehabilitating offenders;

providing reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and

promoting a sense of responsibility in offenders, and an acknowledgement of the harm done to victims and to the community.

ISSUES FOR SENTENCING

With the above OBJECTIVES in mind, the fundamental principle that must be remembered by Judges in deciding an appropriate sentence is that the punishment must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender. Some issues that are also considered in the process of sentencing include:

the age and maturity of the offender;
his or her previous criminal history or conduct;
the background, character, and personal circumstances of the offender (eg. employment, education, family, mental health);
the behaviour and attitude of the offender;
the degree of culpability;
extent of planning and deliberation;
continuation of the crime over an extended period of time;
the prevalence of the offence in society;
the degree of violence used (eg. if weapons were used);
time spent in custody before resolution;
whether or not there was a restrictive bail in place;
whether restitution has been made already;
co-operation with the authorities;
the sophistication of the offence;
the nature of sentences imposed on like offenders for similar offences;
the motive for commission of the offence (eg. medical problems, family difficulties, financial difficulties, etc.);
degree of racial, ethnic, religious, gender, or other bias involved;
extent of trust between victim and offender (egs. employer and employee, parent and child, teacher and student);
the totality of the sentence on the whole where there are several findings of guilt;
degree of remorse;
previous good conduct; and
the conduct of the state (prosecutors/police - for example, suppression of exculpatory evidence).

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MODULE 14: CONCLUSION

HOW TO EXECUTE

These are some helpful “commandments”:

Thou shalt know thy judge
Thou shalt know thy opponent
Thou shall know thy law
Thou shall know the facts

OTHER POINTS TO REMEMBER

Your appearance
Develop a consistent style
Use your energy and passion
Make good eye contact
Have substance:
Open strong but NOT over-promise
Organize
Know the legal elements
Know the essential factual issues
Know the holes in the issues in the opposing side’s case
Emphasize the strengths of your case
Explain the weaknesses but do NOT dwell on them. Just do NOT ignore them totally.
Keep the crucial points to a minimum. This will help you not to lose your audience.
If you are the prosecutor/Crown in a criminal case, emphasize the evidence that is aggravating :
seriousness of the office
evil intent of the Accused
impact on victim
record of accused
do not be overzealous-you will make it personal and lose objectivity and credibility
If You are the Defense Attorney in a criminal trial:-
personalize/humanize the accused
emphasize mitigation issues
be reasonable
do not ignore negative parts of your case

Close as strong as you can by hammering the key bullet points that you want to soak into the Tribunal’s mind when they determine the outcome.

The End.