DP 14: factors considered in sentencing, including aggravating factors, mitigating factors, guilty
pleas and victim impact statements
Key Skills
• 3.1.1 - define and use legal terminology
• 3.1.2 - discuss, interpret and analyse legal principles and information
• 3.1.11 - synthesise and apply legal principles and information to actual and/or hypothetical
scenarios
Essential Question?
What factors will a judge consider in sentencing?
INTRO
To decide on an appropriate purpose for a sanction, a judge will need to consider many factors
about the offender, their circumstances, and the impact of their actions. The idea behind these
factors is no crime is created equal (manslaughter vs murder for example), however, in addition to
that, the impact that a crime has is also not equal. The factors considered for a judge to sentence an
offender include:
• Aggravating factors
o Aspects of a crime or offender’s personal circumstances that increase their
culpability How much blame you have
• Mitigating factors
o Aspects of a crime or offender’s personal circumstances that reduce their culpability
• Guilty pleas
o A plea of guilty before (or during) trial will lead to a decrease in sentence
• Victim Impact Statements
o The victim can inform the court of how the offence has impacted them
AGGRAVATING FACTORS (noun: aggravate, irritate, exasperate)
• A judge will look at the crime itself, and the personal
circumstances of the offender to determine the level of
culpability
• Aggravating factors are those that can increase the culpability of
the offender, therefore increasing their sanction/sentence. They
include:
o Premeditation
o Use of a weapon
o Breach of trust
• Some examples of aggravating factors could be:
o The victim was very young, very old or had a disability
o The use of violence or explosives
o The severe nature and gravity of the offence
o The offence occurred when the offender was on a CCO or on bail
MITIGATING FACTORS (noun: mitigate, reduce, alleviate)
• The judge will look at the crime itself, and the personal
circumstances of the offender to determine the level of culpability
• Mitigating factors are those that can decrease the culpability of
the offender, therefore decreasing their sanction/sentence
• Mitigating factors include:
o Personal circumstances such as their age or background
o Demonstrated remorse
o Cooperation with authorities
• Some examples of mitigating factors include:
o The offender was provoked by the victim
o The offender has no record of previous convictions
o The offender was young or mentally incapable
o The offender made an early guilty plea
GUILTY PLEAS
• Pleading guilty to charges can lead to a:
o Reduction in sanction
o Reduction in sentence if the sanction remains the same (eg imprisonment)
• The Sentencing Act 1991 outlines that this reduction in sentence should be between 20 and
30 percent – see DP 10 for the Sentencing Act 1991
• Indicates remorse and acceptance of responsibility, saves the court time and money and
potentially saves causing harm to the victim
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS
• An official statement from a victim on how a crime has impacted their life
• May mention injury, loss or damage suffered because of the offence
• May also talk to ongoing harm because of the offence
• May be read aloud by the victim at court
• A court considers the victim impact statement when deciding the offender’s sentence. This
means that Victim Impact Statements are only considered after a finding of guilt or a guilty
plea. They are relevant to sentencing- they are not evidence at trial
• https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSMelbourne/videos/bourke-st-murder-victim-impact-
statements/336007023706095/
Practice Exam Question:
Antoinette is sentence to a Community Corrections Order for assault. Explain why she may not have
been imprisoned, and discuss the ability of a CCO to meet the purposes of sanctions (5 marks)
Explain (2 marks) Discuss (3 marks)
- Why she wasn’t imprisoned - Discuss the ability of CCO to meet
- This is a reduction in sanction purpose of sanctions
- Either via mitigating factors or a - To discuss strengths and weaknesses of
guilty plea CCO
- Identify one of these mitigating - Strength is it rehabilitates the offender to
factors and explain why that leads to help them not reoffend
a reduction in sentence - However, it doesn’t protect the
community
Antoinette may not have been imprisoned, as she may have pled guilty prior to trial. Offenders who
plead guilty may receive a reduced sanction due to saving the public money by avoiding trial, as well
as the fact that it shows remorse.
Community corrections order can achieve the aim of rehabilitation. This is because they have
conditions attached to them that an offender must follow, such as attending rehabilitation programs
or therapy sessions. On the other hand, community corrections orders do not achieve the purpose of
protection. This is because a community corrections order is a community-based order, meaning the
offender is free to move about the community
Key Skill: synthesise and apply legal principles and information to actual and/or hypothetical
scenarios.
• https://www.geniac.net/portarthur/sentence.htm
• “The prisoner has shown no remorse for his actions. Though he has ultimately pleaded guilty,
it has clearly been done in recognition of the undoubted strength of the evidence against him
and amounts to little more than a case of bowing to the inevitable. That his change of plea
has saved considerable distress, inconvenience and cost to those who would have had to be
called as witnesses and to the victims and community at large by the prolongation of the
proceedings is a factor which should be considered in his favour when weighing all the
relevant considerations, but in the overall scheme of things, it is, in my view, overwhelmingly
outweighed by the factors militating against him.”
