Page 61 - Magistrates Conference 2019

Discount for a Guilty Plea Cont.

• The Court in Da Costa Hall v The Queen [2011] CCJ 6 was careful to

ensure transparency when dealing with the time spent in custody. The
same approach should apply when dealing with discounts for guilty

pleas. It is insufficient for a judge to simply indicate that he has taken

an accused’s guilty plea into account. It is best practice when
imposing sentence after a guilty plea, for the judge to state the

measure of the discount if any occasioned by the guilty plea.

• Judges are also required to set out in their reasons the methodology

of the discount and explain in arithmetical terms how he has dealt
with the discount for the guilty plea.

• While the one third discount for a guilty plea acts as a general rule,

there are cases in which the circumstances are so grievous that even

on a guilty plea, this disentitles the convict to a one third discount or
to any discount at all.

See the dicta of Yorke-Soo Hon, J.A. in Terry Daly v The State at

paragraphs 16-18 25