A sentencing judge who records a conviction against a juvenile without inviting submissions from defence counsel may breach natural justice where the prosecution has not positively contended for a conviction and has acknowledged adverse consequences. The word 'unusual' in R v Robertson is not a term of art; the real question is whether the judge's failure to give notice resulted in a failure to afford a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The starting premise under the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld) is that no conviction be recorded against a juvenile, and the statutory factors in s 184 — particularly the impact on rehabilitation and employment — must be genuinely engaged with.
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