Page 64 - Magistrates Conference 2019

Discount for a Guilty Plea Cont.

• Remorse may be sometimes demonstrated by a guilty plea but it is not

necessarily exemplified by it. If after a thorough and robust evaluation

by the judge, a defendant’s remorse is manifest, sentencing credit may

be given to it, separate and apart from the guilty plea;

• While a guilty plea may be an admission of responsibility, in the face of

an inevitable conviction, there may in reality be very little remorse for
which separate sentencing credit can properly be given – see Najeeb

Dawood v R [2013] NZCA 381;

• Precisely when a plea of guilty is entered, is only one of several

circumstances that must be evaluated by the judge;

• The usual discount of approximately one-third (1/3) may be properly

reduced if it is clear that the plea is motivated by tactical

considerations. In this regard, the strength of the prosecution case

may, on occasion, be a relevant factor to be evaluated in considering all

the circumstances in which the plea is entered. 27