Mandatory Minimum Penalties Condemned

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31540, 30 November 1967, Page 16

Mandatory Minimum Penalties Condemned

It was a great mistake to have too many statutory restrictions on the amount or nature of penalties, said Mr E. A. Lee, SJM., the senior magistrate in Christchurch, at a special sitting of the Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon when his retirement was marked.

Too many minimum statutory penalties often resulted in punishments out of proportion to the offence. The great majority of magistrates were sufficiently experienced to exercise discretion wisely. “True it may be thought that mistakes had been made by some magistrates, but that did not justify extremes of

restriction on the great majority by legislative action," said Mr Lee. “Sometimes the Court will fiddle with a charge in an attempt to prevent an injustice. Take the case of driving at a speed or manner which might have been dangerous—which carries a minimum period of disqualification from driving for one year. “This causes the court to reduce the charge in some cases where, although there may have been an element of danger in the defendant’s driving, one year’s cancellation of licence would be out of proportion to the offence. “Another example can be found in the Gaming Act where a second conviction for bookmaking carries with it • statutory period of imprisonment.

“There was a case in which a woman appeared on a second charge of bookmaking. “The offence was a minor one and the condition of the woman's health did not warrant the imposition of imprisonment so the magistrate had to resort to discharging the defendant without convictino under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act,” Mr Lee said.