CRM 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: House Arrest, Victimisation, Probation Officer
20 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Week 7- Sentencing
Sentencing
- Purpose of sentencing is to denounce unlawful conduct, deter offender and other persons
from committing offences, separate offenders from society where necessary, assist in
rehabilitating offenders, provide reparations done to victims or to the community and to
promote se sense of responsibility in offenders and acknowledgement of harm done to
victims and community
- Sentence goals are utilitarian, retributive and restorative
Plea bargaining
- Growing number of cases on plea bargaining
- In cases where someone is charged with a crime and they originally plead not guilty, the
defendant or crown can approach defence attorney of accused and say if you plead guilty,
a lesser charge will come with a smaller sentence and trial ends
- Defence attorney can approach crown for plead for a plea bargain
- Whoever proposes a plea bargain might not feel confident that they will win case- crown
thinking evidence is not enough to convict, defence thinks they will lose
- Judge supports plea bargaining because Canada’s judicial court system is in a huge
financial strain, if every case went through court system there is not enough funds to
move through case
- Person is still being found guilty and file on the case closes
- Judge encourages it as it speeds up case and saves resources
Issues around transparency
- Anyone can go to court house and watch a trial take place
- High profile cases, or cases with minors the judge might say no reporters
- Decisions reached are supposed to be transparent
- Plea bargaining is not transparent (deal is whispered)
The victim
- Greater efforts are made to bring victims into judicial system and to give them a voice
- If plea bargaining happens too quickly, victims lose playing a part in case
- For some it is a relief (revictimization) as they do not want to get involved in process
- But some feel they are robbed, or they are unhappy with lighter sentence that comes with
plea bargaining “I want them to get the longest sentence”
Sentencing
- If someone pleads guilty or is found guilty, judge has to make sentence
- Another trial for sentencing
- Judges have to take into account precedent (judicial decision that may be used as a
standard in subsequent similar cases), recent cases that resembles the one they are dealing
with, mitigating and aggravating circumstances
- Sentence sends a message, have a goal
- All things judges is hoping to achieve with sentences
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Mitigating circumstances
- Pushes judge to lighter sentence
- Ex. First time offence
- Circumstances surrounding crime may be taken under account (not serious)
- Take testimony from police personnel who says they have been cooperative and
portrayed good behaviour since convicted
- Judge may pick 3 years for crimes which are usually sentenced 3-5 years
Aggravating circumstances
- Pushes judges to harsher sentences
- Person who has a long police record, many convictions
- Circumstances surrounding crime, assault of vulnerable person (child, women), yes they
are convicted of crime but this is a heinous crime
- Judge may take into account information of person being difficult and uncooperative
Denounce
- Publicly declare to be wrong or evil
- Sentences can be used as a deterrent
- It will stop people from thinking of possibility of engaging in particular crime
Deter
- Sentences can be used as a deterrent
- Discourage someone from doing something, typically by instilling fear
Separate
- Goal is to separate dangerous person from society
- Judge gives long prison sentences so person is no longer in community and cannot harm
community
Rehabilitate
- Restore someone to society by training and therapy
- Crime committed by drug addict, judge may try as hard as they can to ensure person gets
treatment for convictions and to release person
- Judges try to give people opportunities to eradicate addiction and to teach them skills for
when they get out
Restored justice
-personalizes the crime by having the victims and the offenders mediate a restitution
agreement to the satisfaction of each, as well as involving the community.
- Promote acknowledgement
- Various sentences to encourage offender to acknowledge crime
- Corner stone of restreeted justice
Utilitarian
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Growing number of cases on plea bargaining. Defence attorney can approach crown for plead for a plea bargain. Whoever proposes a plea bargain might not feel confident that they will win case- crown thinking evidence is not enough to convict, defence thinks they will lose. Judge supports plea bargaining because canada"s judicial court system is in a huge financial strain, if every case went through court system there is not enough funds to move through case. Person is still being found guilty and file on the case closes. Judge encourages it as it speeds up case and saves resources. Anyone can go to court house and watch a trial take place. High profile cases, or cases with minors the judge might say no reporters. Decisions reached are supposed to be transparent. Plea bargaining is not transparent (deal is whispered) Greater efforts are made to bring victims into judicial system and to give them a voice.
