A guilty plea entered to a substituted offence on an amended indictment after an adverse voir dire ruling, where the trial has been listed and vacated multiple times, may attract a discount as low as 5% where there is no evidence of earlier plea negotiations. The burden is on the applicant to produce evidence of earlier negotiations to demonstrate error in a low discount. A four-month difference in starting points between co-offenders does not constitute a gross or manifest disparity where the difference is explained by a significantly worse criminal record and conditional liberty.
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