The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the Magistrate's sentence was not manifestly excessive. On the guilty plea discount issue, the Court held that discounts of 25% (against a 30% maximum) were within discretion where the prosecution cases were strong and pleas were entered after multiple hearings, and that the Magistrate provided adequate reasons for departing from the maximum discount. On totality, the Court held that the Magistrate properly applied the totality principle by ordering partial concurrency with the existing District Court sentence and that the resulting non-parole period of approximately 59% of the head sentence was within the permissible range. The Court found the Magistrate's use of the adjective 'real' to describe the risk of drug relapse was unnecessary but did not constitute error, as the Magistrate had properly considered the appellant's improved rehabilitation prospects.
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