A Drug Court 'indicated sentence' is a permissible management tool but has no statutory basis and cannot fix or constrain the sentencing court's discretion when ultimately sentencing an offender. The sentencing court must independently apply all statutory sentencing principles under the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), resolve disputed facts material to sentence, and comply with s 9AA regarding guilty plea discounts. Treating the indicated sentence as a starting point from which departure must be justified is an error of law giving rise to a miscarriage of justice.
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