Where a drug supply offence could properly have been prosecuted in the Local Court but the Crown elects to proceed on indictment in the District Court, the sentencing judge must give appropriate weight to that circumstance. While the judge is not required to treat the Local Court maximum as a ceiling, the availability of summary prosecution is a mitigating factor that, depending on the objective and subjective criminality, may call for some reduction in the sentence that would otherwise be imposed. Failure to give sufficient weight to this factor may render the sentence manifestly excessive.
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