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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1997 |
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A two-year sentence for simple theft was found manifestly excessive; mitigating factors warranted immediate release based on time served.
Criminal law – Theft – Sentencing – Manifestly excessive sentence – Mitigating factors: guilty plea, first offender, recovery of property, age – Suspension vs short custodial term – Time served.
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17 November 1997 |
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Court increased burglary sentence, endorsing a six-year benchmark and stressing totality and concurrency when defendant is already serving a sentence.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Burglary – Benchmarked starting point of six years’ imprisonment – Recovery of property not a major mitigating factor – Totality principle and duty to check existing sentences – Concurrency versus consecutiveness.
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16 November 1997 |
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Voting without registration certificates is an irregularity, but proved instances did not justify annulling the by-election.
Electoral law — voting procedure — production of voter registration certificate — irregularity; statutory duties of Electoral Commission to investigate (s.113); annulment discretionary — materiality of irregularities to result (s.114, s.118).
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13 November 1997 |
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Court found an 18‑month sentence for K1,300 theft by servant excessive and ordered immediate release.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Theft by servant – Manifestly excessive sentence – Duty to give reasons for sentence – Review of sentencing discretion – Sentencing guidelines – Plea of guilty and time served.
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12 November 1997 |
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Whether a guilty plea bars an appeal and whether a two-year sentence for theft of a single small beast was manifestly excessive.
Criminal law – Appeal – Effect of guilty plea on competence of appeal (s.348 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code) – Sentencing – Theft of cattle – Assessment by nature and number of animals – Guilty plea as mitigation and entitlement to substantial reduction (up to one-third) – Manifestly excessive sentence.
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6 November 1997 |