The Mangelsdorf requirement for 'exceptional circumstances' to justify suspension of a sentence of imprisonment applies only to cases involving a background of involvement in commercial trading or dealing in drugs. Where the offending is a modest cannabis production venture without such a background, the statutory criterion under s 38(1) of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) — whether 'good reason exists' — applies without the heightened threshold. A sentencing judge who rejects a mitigating circumstance as 'inherently implausible' must provide reasons for that characterisation.
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