A suspended sentence (or recognizance release order under s 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)) remains a sentence of imprisonment in its own right and a legitimate sentencing option; sentencing judges must not treat it as 'hardly a penalty'. Erroneous comments made by a sentencing judge during submissions will not ground an appeal where the judgment was reserved and the remarks on sentence articulate independent reasons for the sentence imposed.
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