A guilty plea is one of the many factors Victorian courts must consider when sentencing. This factor includes whether the offender has pleaded guilty to the offence and at what stage of the proceedings. The earlier in the proceedings the offender pleads guilty, the greater the reduction they will receive in their sentence.
When sentencing an offender who pleads guilty, courts are usually required to say what sentence they would have imposed if the offender had not pleaded guilty. This is provided for in section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) and section 362A of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic).
Our research found that over 70% of offenders plead guilty in the County and Supreme Courts (Sentencing Advisory Council (2015) Guilty Pleas in the Higher Courts: Rates, Timing, and Discounts).
Sentence Indications
Sentence indications allow defendants to obtain an indication of the sentence that they would likely face if they pleaded guilty to the offences. A sentence indication can be sought at almost any stage of proceedings, unless a trial has commenced.
Sentence indications operate differently in the higher courts (County and Supreme Courts) and the Magistrates’ Court. The courts are given an agreed summary of the facts and any relevant material:
- in the higher courts, the judge can then indicate the type of sentence they would impose and (if relevant) the longest prison sentence they would impose or
- in the Magistrates’ Court, the magistrate can then indicate the type of sentence they would impose (for example, a community correction order).
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