Where a prosecutor concedes that a sentence of imprisonment should be served by way of intensive correction in the community, the sentencing judge must indicate during the hearing if minded not to act on that concession and afford the offender an opportunity to adduce further evidence and make submissions. Failure to do so will ordinarily constitute a denial of procedural fairness and a miscarriage of justice. The requirement of procedural fairness in sentencing is properly characterised as a predicate to the exercise of the sentencing power, not merely an entitlement of the offender. Criminal appeals should not be disposed of by a single judge by consent under s 37J(1)(g) where broader public interests are engaged.
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