Where a guilty plea is entered at a time attracting the maximum statutory discount under ss 10B or 10C of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA), sentencing judges must allow a discount at or close to the maximum unless there are reasons justifying a lesser discount, and those reasons must be stated. A global discount applied without explanation as to how it was arrived at, particularly where some offences attract the statutory regime and others the common law regime, constitutes appellate error. The totality principle should be applied as a final check after all discounts have been allowed, not at the stage of accumulating notional sentences.
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