A 15% discount under s 35A of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) for an unrealised offer to plead guilty to manslaughter at a criminal case conference is within the appropriate range and gives full weight to the unrealised utilitarian value of the plea. A sentencing judge is not required to give a further discount for the conduct of the trial where the utilitarian value of concessions was not significant and the trial was not conducted in a notably efficient, expeditious, and pragmatic manner. The Verdins principles do not impose mandatory or presumptive requirements; a complaint about the weight given to mental health factors does not demonstrate House v The King error.
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