Mandatory sentencing and the role of the academic

Criminal Law Forum

Volumn 18, Issue 3-4, 2007, Pages 321-347

  Warner, Kate ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA   (Australia)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 35748945130     PISSN: 10468374     EISSN: 15729850     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10609-007-9043-8     Document Type: Review

References (111)

1. ANDREW ASHWORTH, SENTENCING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 207-208 (4th edn., 2005).
2. Julian Roberts, Public Opinion and Mandatory Sentencing, A Review of the International Findings, 30 CRIM, JUSTICE & BEHAVIOUR (2003) 483, 485.
3. SIMON BRONITT & BERNADETTE MCSHERRY, PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW 138 (2nd edn., 2005).
4. DAVID GARLAND, THE CULTURE OF CONTROL: CRIME AND SOCIAL ORDER IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY 9, 142 (2001).
5. Politicians have continued to promise mandatory sentences if elected to government. In Queensland, a private members bill, the Offenders (Serious Sexual Offences Minimum Imprisonment and Rehabilitation) Bill 2006 was recently introduced by the opposition leader.
6. GARLAND, supra note 4, p. (vii).
7. David Brown, Continuity, Rupture, or Just More of the Volatile and Contradictory, in THE NEW PUNITIVENESS 35 (John Pratt et al. eds., 2005).
8. MICHAEL TONRY, SENTENCING MATTERS 143 (1996).
9. It has been suggested that fixing a penalty below which a penalty cannot fall is no more a mandatory penalty than fixing a maximum penalty: Mirko Bagaric, What Sort of Mandatory Penalties should we have? 23 ADELAIDE L. REV. 113, 117 (2002).
10. JAMES FITZJAMES STEPHEN, History of the CRIMINAL LAW OF ENGLAND, VOL. I, 481 (1883).
11. Ibid., p. 475.
12. Ibid., p. 482.
13. 24 & 25 Vict, c.1.00, S.61.
14. This court operated from 1788 until 1823.
15. ALEX. CASTLES, AN AUSTRALIAN LEGAL HISTORY 61 (1982) (referring to the New South Wales Act 1787, 27 Geo IV c. 2, B and C 18).
16. In Tasmania, rather than a minimum penalty for sodomy, death was mandatory: 27. Vict. No. 5, s. 59.
17. ASH WORTH, supra note 1, p. 52. Indeterminate sentences existed but most offenders received fixed term sentences.
18. This was suggested by Harding in 1990 in an article in the first volume of this journal: Richard Harding, Rational-Choice Gun Use in Armed Robbery: The Likely Deterrent Effect on Gun-Use of Mandatory Additional Imprisonment, 1 CRIM, L. FORUM 427 (1990).
19. Russell Hogg, Mandatory Sentencing Laws and the Symbolic Politics of Law and Order, 22 UNIV. NEW SOUTH WALES L. REV. 262 (1999).
20. For a critique of the W.A. matrix proposals see Neil Morgan, A Sentencing Matrix for Western Australia: Accountability and Transparency or Smoke and Mirrors?, in SENTENCING AND SOCIETY 65-89 (Cyrus Tata & Neil Hutton eds., 2002).
21. Crimes (Amendment) Act 1955 (No. 16) (NSW).
22. The current provision is the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 19A.
23. And in some jurisdictions, judges had some choice in relation to the minimum period that must be served before release.
24. John Anderson, The Sentence of Life Imprisonment for the Crime of Murder in New South Wales 18-20 (2003) (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Newcastle, Australia).
25. Ibid., 22, referring to the Violet and Bruce Roberts case and the South Australian case of R. 4 A. Crim. R. 127 (1981) (the 'axe-murder case'). See David Weisbrot, Homicide Law Reform in New South Wales, 6 CRIM. L. J. 248 (1982).
26. Weisbrot, supra note 25, p. 250.
27. LAW REFORM COMMISSION OF VICTORIA, THE LAW OF HOMICIDE IN VICTORIA: THE SENTENCE FOR MURDER, REPORT NO. 1 (1985).
28. Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 3 as amended by 37 of 1986. In 1975 the mandatory death penalty for murder was replaced with mandatory life imprisonment.
29. LAW REFORM. COMMISSIONER OF TASMANIA: INSANITY, INTOXIFICATION AND AUTOMATISM, REPORT NO. 61, p. 11 (1989).
30. Supra note 27, p. 5 quoting David Thomas Developments in Sentencing 1964-1974, CRIM. L. REV. 685, p. 687 (1974).
31. ANDREW ASHWORTH, SENTENCING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 51 (3rd edn., 2000).
32. ASHWORTH, supra note 1, p. 116.
33. S. MOFFATTET AL., SENTENCING PCA DRINK DRIVERS: THE USE OF DISMISSALS AND CONDITIONAL DISCHARGES, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, November 2003.
34. As was the case in New South Wales for high range PCA offences: Attorney-General's Application (No. 3 of 2002) [2004] NSWCCA 303.
35. A recent submission by a New South Wales magistrate to the New South Wales Sentencing Council pointed to the devastating impact disqualification can have on offenders in communities where public transport is minimal or non-existent.
36. AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, SAME CRIME, SAME TIME, REPORT NO. 103, 541-542 (2006).
37. TONRY, supra note 8, p. 134.
38. Ibid., p. 146.
39. Ibid., p. 160.
40. Ibid., p. 141.
41. Ibid., p. 160.
42. Ibid.
43. Northern Territory Parliamentary Record, Seventh Assembly First Session No. 27, 17 October 1996, p. 9699, quoted by George Zdenkowski, Mandatory Imprisonment of Property Offenders in the Northern Territory, 22 UNIV. NEW SOUTH WALES L. REV. 303 (1999).
44. Ministerial Statement quoted by Zdenkowski, supra note 43, p. 303.
45. Ibid., p. 304.
46. For a discussion of the Committee's report see Kate Warner, Sentencing Review 1999, 24 CRIM L. J. 355, pp. 357-359 (2000).
47. Sentencing Act (N.T.) s 78.B.
48. Sentencing Act (N.T.) s 78BA and s 78BB.
49. Neil Morgan, Capturing Crims or Capturing Votes? The Aims and Effects of Mandatories, 22 UNIV. NEW SOUTH WALES L. REV. 267, p. 269 (1999).
50. DON WEATHERBURN, LAW AND ORDER IN AUSTRALIA: RHETORIC AND REALITY 28 (2004).
51. Ibid.
52. Neil Morgan, Mandatory Sentences in Australia: Where Have We Been and Where are We Going, 24 CRIM. L. J. 164, p. 169 (2000).
53. Ibid., p. 166, note 11.
54. WEATHERBURN, supra note 50, p. 29 citing R. Broadhurst & N. Loh, Selective Incapacitation and the Phantom of Deterrence, in REPEAT JUVENILE OFFENDERS: THE FAILURE OF SELECTIVE INCAPACITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 55-78 (Richard Harding ed., 1993).
55. Morgan, supra note 49, p. 275.
56. Morgan, supra note 52, p. 169 citing REPEAT JUVENILE OFFENDERS: THE FAILURE OF SELECTIVE INCAPACITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 5 (Richard Harding ed, 2nd edn., 1995).
57. The Children's Court has interpreted the legislation as permitting the use of Conditional Release Orders (essentially a form of conditional suspended sentence), exercised in around 10% of cases: Morgan, supra note 52, pp. 166-167.
58. P. Foss, Ministerial Statement, 22 August 1996 quoted by Neil Morgan, Going Overboard? Debates and Developments in Mandatory Sentencing June 2000 to June 2002, 26 CRIM, L. J. 293, p. 298 (2002).
59. Quoted by Morgan, supra note 58, p. 298.
60. Ibid., p. 297.
61. Ibid., p. 298, citing the statement by the Attorney-General to the Senate Committee.
62. SENATE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES COMMITTEE, PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA, INQUIRY INTO THE HUMAN RIGHTS (MANDATORY SENTENCING OF PROPERTY OFFENCES) Bill 2000 (2002).
63. Border Protection (Validation and Enforcement Powers) Act 2001 (Cth.) amending the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ss 233C (penalty), the offence is in s 232A.
64. Contrary to the Migration Act 1.958 (Cth) s 233A.
65. Morgan, supra note 58, p. 299.
66. AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, supra note 36, p. 541.
67. Morgan, supra note 58, p. 299.
68. AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, supra note 36, p. 542.
69. An exception is Bagaric. While not defending the mandatory regimes in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, he has argued that a fixed penalty regime, if set at an appropriate level is desirable and necessary to deal with disparities in sentencing and public confidence: Mirko Bagaric, What Sort of Mandatories Should We Have?, 23 ADELAIDE L. REV. 113 (2002).
70. HARDING (ed.) supra note 54, discussed above.
71. ABORIGINAL JUSTICE COUNCIL, MANDATORY SENTENCING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND THE IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL YOUTH (2002).
72. WESTERN AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, REVIEW OF SECTION 401 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE (2001) (this review was required by the legislation enacting the "third strike" legislation).
73. DIANNE JOHNSON AND GEORGE ZDENKOWSKI, MANDATORY INJUSTICE: COMPULSORY IMPRISONMENT IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (2000).
74. NORTHERN TERRITORY OFFICE OF CRIME PREVENTION, MANDATORY SENTENCING FOR ADULT PROPERTY OFFENDERS: THE NORTHERN TERRITORY EXPERIENCE (2003).
75. See AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, supra note 36, p. 540, note 98 for references.
76. Ibid., p. 540.
77. 123 C.L.R. 489 (1970)
78. This argument relies upon the High Court decision in Kable v. The Queen 189 C.L.R. 5.1. (1996); see Martin Flynn, Fixing a Sentence: Are there any Constitutional Limits, 22 UNIV. NEW SOUTH WALES L. J. 280 (1999);
79. GFK. Santow, Mandatory Sentences: A Matter for the High Court?, 74 AUSTRALIAN L. J. 298 (2000);
80. D. Manderson and S. Sharp, Mandatory Sentences and the Constitution: Discretion, Responsbility and the Judicial Process, 22 SYDNEY L. R. 585 (2000);
81. Sir Anthony Mason, Mandatory Sentencing: Implications for Judicial Independence, 1 AUSTRALIAN J. HUM. RIGHTS 21. (2001). Possibly this constitutional argument has been weakened by the High Court's more recent decisions in Fardon v. Attorney-General of Queensland [2004] HCA 64 and Baker v. The Queen 78 AUSTRALIAN L. J. REP. 1483 (2004).
82. See Peter Sallmann, Mandatory Sentencing: A birid's-eye View, 14 J. JUD. ADMIN. 177, pp. 183-186 (2005).
83. Morgan, supra note 52, p. 179.
84. DAVID BROWN ET AL., CRIMINAL LAWS: MATERIALS AND COMMENTARY ON CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCESS OF NEW SOUTH WALES 1231 (4th ed., 2006).
85. Figures from 74% to 81% have been reported by the Department of Justice: Morgan, supra note 58, at 301.
86. NORTHERN TERRITORY OFFICE OF CRIME PREVENTION, supra note 74, pp. 2, 5.
87. BROWNET AL., supra note 80, p. 1231.
88. Ibid.
89. ARISTOTLE, THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 112 (1998). My colleague Dr Julia Davis pointed this out to me.
90. This is the view of at least some magistrates in New South Wales where considerable hardship can be caused by licence disqualification in areas where public transport is non-existent or minimal (based on a submission to the New South Wales Sentencing Council.
91. Morgan, supra, note 58, p. 307, quoting Auden.
92. David Brown, Mandatory Sentencing; A Criminological Perspective, 1 AUSTRALIAN J. HUM. RIGHTS 31 (2001).
93. Brown, supra note 7, p. 40.
94. Katja Franco Aas, The ad and the Form: Punitiveness and Technological Culture, in THE NEW PUNITIVENESS 150, 151 (John Pratt et al. eds., 2005).
95. GARLAND, supra note 4, p. 20.
96. Ibid., p. 13.
97. Ibid., p. 143.
98. Morgan, supra note 52, p. 171.
99. Margaret Nalyirri Wynbyne; ABC Radio National Transcripts, The Law Report, 30 September 1997.
100. JOHNSON AND ZDENKOWSKI, supra note 73, pp. 104-105.
101. 97JULAN V. ROBERTS ETAL., PENAL POPULISM, AND PUBLIC OPINION; LESSONS FROM FIVE COUNTRIES (2003).
102. Brown, supra note 7, pp. 39-40.
103. JULIAN V. ROBERTS ET AL., supra note 97; for a succinct critique of ways of measuring public opinion on sentencing see KAREN GELB, SENTENCING ADVISORY COUNCIL, VICTORIA, MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS: PUBLIC OPINION VERSUS PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT SENTENCING, RESEARCH PAPER, 6-10 (2006).
104. B. Applegate et al, Assessing Public Support for Three-strikes-and- you're-out Laws: Global Versus Specific Attitudes, 42 CRIME & DELINQUENCY 517, cited in Roberts, supra note 2, p. 493.
105. DAVID GARLAND, THE CULTURE OF CONTROL (2001).
106. Mick Ryan, Engaging with Punitive Attitudes Towards Crime and Punishment. Some Strategic Lessons from England and Wales, in THE NEW PUNITIVENESS 139, 145 (John Pratt et al. eds., 2005).
107. Ibid., p. 148.
108. Ibid., p. 147.
109. Sallmann, supra note 78, pp. 191-192.
110. David Green, Public Opinion versus Public Judgment about Crime, 46 BRIT. J. CRIMINOLOGY 131. (2006).
111. Arie Freiberg, Affective Versus Effective Justice: Instrumentalism and Emotionalism in Criminal Justice, 3 PUNISHMENT & SOCIETY 265, p. 271 (2001).