REDUCING SENTENCES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 14, 17 July 1939, Page 11

REDUCING SENTENCES

POWER OF THE COURT

STANDARDISATION

ILL-INFORMED CRITICISM

Comment on recent criticism by a weekly newspaper of the reduction by the Court of Appeal of sentences imposed by Judges of the Supreme Court is made by the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in a.judgment on another matter affecting the newspaper. His Honour says that while no objection can be taken to the criticism, such criticism is often ill-informed, as not infrequently fresh knowledge is available to the Court of Appeal. One of the main objects of this function of the Court is to bring about, as far as possible, some measure of standardisation.

"So far as the criticism on the reductions of sentences is concerned, no objection can be taken to the criticism, but it is subject to the comment that criticism of the kind is often illinformed," remarks his Honour. "It not infrequently happens that on an appeal against sentence matters are placed before the Court of Appeal which were not placed before the Court below, which are not known to the critic, and which, in the opinion of the Court of Appeal, may require the sentence imposed by the Court below to be reduced.

"As Lord Atkin points out ... it is very seldom that the critic has the means of ascertaining all the circumstances winch weigh with either the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal in awarding sentence. As he says, 'Sentences are unequal because the conditions in which offences afe committed are unequal,' and it is quite inevitable that sentences do vary in apparently similar circumstances with the habit of' mind of the particular Judge.

"It is for that very reason that the Court of Appeal in New Zealand, as in England and other parts of the British Empire, has had.conferred upon it the jurisdiction to consider appeals against sentence, and the very object, or one of the main objects, of conferring upon prisoners a right of such appeal, and upon the Court of Appeal the jurisdiction and duty to consider the appeals, is to bring about, as far as possible, some .measure of standardisation."