Guilty plea to be taken into account for offences not dealt with on indictment
22 Guilty plea to be taken into account for offences not dealt with on indictment
In passing sentence for an offence on an offender who has pleaded guilty to the offence, a court must take into account—
the fact that the offender has pleaded guilty, and
when the offender pleaded guilty or indicated an intention to plead guilty, and
the circumstances in which the offender indicated an intention to plead guilty,
and may accordingly impose a lesser penalty than it would otherwise have imposed.
A lesser penalty imposed under this section must not be unreasonably disproportionate to the nature and circumstances of the offence.
When passing sentence on such an offender, a court that does not impose a lesser penalty under this section must indicate to the offender, and make a record of, its reasons for not doing so.
Subsection (2) does not limit any other requirement that a court has, apart from that subsection, to record the reasons for its decisions.
The failure of a court to comply with this section does not invalidate any sentence imposed by the court.
This section applies only to a sentence for an offence that is dealt with summarily or to a sentence for an offence dealt with on indictment to which Division 1A does not apply.
Note.
Discounts for the utilitarian value of a guilty plea to other offences are provided for by Division 1A.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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