Section 30(2)(b) of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) permits a sentencing judge to backdate a sentence to include a period when the defendant was not in custody, provided the backdating is referable to an equivalent period actually spent in custody in relation to the same offending. The provision applies even where the time in custody was served in relation to a more serious charge of which the defendant was not ultimately convicted, the focus being on the conduct rather than the particular offence. Backdating may be preferred over sentence reduction where it is necessary to preserve the ability to impose a non-parole period.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 5 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.