Book contents
- The Timing of Guilty Pleas
- The Timing of Guilty Pleas
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- Table of Legislation
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Sliding Scale of Sentence Discounts
- 3 Implicit (and Explicit) Plea Bargaining
- 4 Revisiting the Assumptions and Methodology
- 5 Factors Affecting the Timing of Guilty Pleas
- 6 Trial and Late-Plea Penalties
- 7 Consistency in Applying Sentence Discounts
- 8 Public Opinion and Sentence Discounts
- 9 Conclusion
- Index
7 - Consistency in Applying Sentence Discounts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2022
- The Timing of Guilty Pleas
- The Timing of Guilty Pleas
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- Table of Legislation
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Sliding Scale of Sentence Discounts
- 3 Implicit (and Explicit) Plea Bargaining
- 4 Revisiting the Assumptions and Methodology
- 5 Factors Affecting the Timing of Guilty Pleas
- 6 Trial and Late-Plea Penalties
- 7 Consistency in Applying Sentence Discounts
- 8 Public Opinion and Sentence Discounts
- 9 Conclusion
- Index
Summary
The sentencing guidelines for the sliding scale of sentence discounts in both England and Wales and Hong Kong have provided for judicial discretion to depart from the recommended sentence reductions. This chapter investigates the consistency of applying the sentencing guidelines in the two jurisdictions. It is found that in general, both English and Hong Kong courts adhere to the recommended guidelines. Multivariate analyses, however, using the sentence discount as the outcome reveal gender and confession to be significant factors for departing from guidelines, with female defendants and defendants who have confessed given a higher sentence discount. Moreover, when reviewing the sentencing process, inconsistencies occur when judges apply aggravating and mitigating factors, as well as the sentence discount for guilty pleas, which may lead to inconsistencies in sentence outcomes.
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- Information
- The Timing of Guilty PleasLessons from Common Law Jurisdictions, pp. 148 - 174Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023