Page 59 - Magistrates Conference 2019

Discount for a Guilty Plea Cont.

• In R v Caley and Others [2012] EWCA Crim. 2821, Hughes LJ said at para. 24:

“… the various public benefits which underlie the practice of reducing the

sentence for a plea of guilty apply just as much to ‘overwhelming’ cases
as to less strong ones…judges ought to be wary of concluding that a case

is ‘overwhelming’ when all that is seen is evidence which is not

contested…even when the case is very strong indeed, some defendants
will elect to force the issue to trial, as indeed is their right. It cannot be

assumed that defendants will make rational decisions or ones which are

born of any inclination to co-operate with the system, but those who do,
merit recognition. When contemplating withholding a reduction for a

plea of guilty in a very strong case, it is often helpful to reflect on what

might have been the sentences if two identical defendants had faced the
same ‘overwhelming’ case and one had pleaded guilty and the other had

not….”

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