Sentences for assault occasioning bodily harm, even in a domestic context, are not useful comparable authorities for the offence of choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting under s 315A of the Criminal Code (Qld). A sentencing judge who reflects a guilty plea discount in a reduced head sentence rather than an earlier parole eligibility date does not thereby deny procedural fairness, provided the factors relied upon were ventilated in submissions. However, procedural fairness may require forewarning where the sentencing judge intends to diminish the weight of a guilty plea by reference to factors not the subject of submissions.
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