Achieving consistency in sentencing / Lyndon Harris.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Lyndon (Lawyer), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sentences (Criminal procedure)--England.

Sentences (Criminal procedure).

Sentences (Criminal procedure)--Wales.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (353 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2022.

Summary:

The Sentencing Council of England and Wales has as its core aim to promote consistency in sentencing, with a developed system of appellate guidance at sentencing in addition to a narrative guidelines system which is now two decades old. As such, there is much to analyse and many lessons to be learned - for England and Wales and other jurisdictions. Consistency in sentencing is widely regarded to be an essential component of a fair sentencing system; but what does consistency mean exactly? In this book, the author maintains that consistency incorporates both substantive and procedural elements, focussing upon the proper application of principle. The notion of comparing 'like' cases is rejected as simplistic, impractical, and unprincipled. Lyndon Harris argues that a more principled approach reconciles the tension between consistency and individualised justice which has been suggested to exist.

Contents:

Cover

Half title

Achieving Consistency in Sentencing

Copyright

Contents

Table of Cases

Table of Statutes

Other Authorities

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Sentencing in England and Wales

The overarching principle

The tension between principles and the 'real world'

Conclusion

2. Conceptualizing consistency in sentencing

The need for, and importance of, consistency in sentencing

The basic concept

The structure of this chapter

The scope of the basic concept

Are consistency and disparity interchangeable terms?

Permissible range of sentences and the pursuit of principled sentencing

Treating like cases alike

The nature of consistency in sentencing

A consistent approach or a consistent outcome?

Is consistency a procedural or substantive concept?

A credible account of consistency

A revised definition

3. Dangers of discretion: Empirical evidence of inconsistency

The critical framework

Empirical literature on consistency in sentencing

Methodological challenges

Geographical differences and 'local justice'

The 'human' element

Sex/​Gender

Race/​Ethnicity

Intersectionality

4. Are individualized justice and consistency incompatible?

Individualized justice

The basic concept and its importance

The offence, the offender, or both?

Individualized justice: Structured discretion or carte blanche?

Judicial discretion

A permissible range of sentencing decisions

A permissible range of sentences and the pursuit of principled sentencing

The apparent tension between individualized justice and the concept of consistency

Conclusion.

5. When is a sentencing decision 'discretionary' and how should that discretion be structured?

What is judicial discretion?

The scope of the endeavour

Summary of argument

Identifying the existence of judicial discretion

The manner in which the discretionary power must be exercised

The case for structured judicial discretion

Methods of structuring discretion: Limiting or guiding?

Limiting measures

Guiding measures

6. Statutory methods of structuring judicial discretion at sentencing

Parliament's role in providing structured discretion at sentencing

Legislatively structured judicial discretion

Politics

Parliament's role in structuring discretion

Provisions of general application

General

Principles underpinning the sentencing scheme in England and Wales

Which sentences may be imposed for which offences?

The maximum sentence available for particular offences

Availability of sentencing orders

Tests for imposing sentencing orders

Aggravation and mitigation

Other factors operating to reduce the severity of a sentence

Assisting the prosecution

Guilty plea

Totality and multiple offences

Minimum and mandatory sentences

Minimum sentences

Mandatory sentences

The extent to which judicial discretion is structured by Parliament in England and Wales

Lessons to be learned

7. Structuring judicial discretion through the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

History

Legislative history of a criminal appellate court

The types of guidance given by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

The power of precedent

Principles of sentencing and other general concepts.

Offences: Guidance on the approach to sentencing

Offences: Reviewing sentences in specific cases

Offences: Traditional guideline judgment

Interpretation: Terms in sentencing guidelines

Interpretation: Statutory provisions

Sentencing procedure

Limitations on the CACD's ability to provide guidance and structure

8. Structuring discretion through sentencing guidelines: Do the Sentencing Council's guidelines promote greater consistency?

The Sentencing Council's guidelines

Background

The constituent elements of sentencing guidance

The Sentencing Council's offence-​specific guidelines

Interpreting offence-​specific guidelines

Robbery Offences Definitive Guideline (2016)

The Sentencing Council's overarching guidelines

The need for substantive guidance

Interpretation of overarching guidelines

Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty plea Definitive Guideline (2017)

Do the Sentencing Council's guidelines contain substantive guidance?

The degree of constraint provided by the guidelines regime

Duty to 'follow' sentencing guidelines

Offence range versus Category range

Empirical literature

9. Achieving consistency in sentencing

What is consistency in sentencing and what theoretical and practical problems does it pose?

Can consistency be reconciled with the concept of individualized justice?

What is a discretionary sentencing decision and how may such decisions be structured?

How effectively does the system in England and Wales promote consistency?

The extent of the structure currently provided

The division of labour

How could the current regime in England and Wales be improved upon?

Insufficient flexibility

More substantive guidance

What role for the CACD?.

Lessons for other jurisdictions

The need for a clear principle/​principles

The need for further guidance in addition to the legislative scheme

Each institution giving guidance must know its role

Combining limiting and guiding measures

Combining offence-​specific and overarching guidance

Consistency of approach and consistency of outcome

A cautious use of language

Constraint is not the enemy of discretion, inappropriate constraint is

Guidance must be substantive

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

This edition also issued in print: 2022.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on November 2, 2022).

Other Format:

Print version: Harris, Lyndon Achieving Consistency in Sentencing

ISBN:

0-19-267539-7

0-19-194976-0

0-19-267538-9