Borderline intellectual functioning as defined in DSM-5 is not a diagnosis of a mental disorder but merely a formal notation of a 'focus of clinical attention'; uncritical reliance should not be placed upon DSM-labelled conditions for sentencing considerations including reduced moral culpability, reduced general deterrence, greater impact of imprisonment, less call for specific deterrence, and potential danger to the community. Barbaro v The Queen did not abrogate the long-standing prosecutorial duty to assist sentencing courts to avoid appealable error, and a Crown submission that a particular sentence may constitute appealable error does not cause the sentencing process to miscarry.
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