Sentencing

People read the press and may disagree with a sentence. The sentence is not light when one considers all the factors in the case.

There is SO many factors that come into play when sentencing, that we cannot possibly name them all.  A sentence is not randomly made up for each case.  Each case is compared with other cases of similar circumstances.  Similar circumstances may exist in a prior drug case such as the role of the offender and drugs of a similar type or quantity/purity.

The Court might look at the criminal record, if any, of the person, at what stage was this person found guilty – did they plead guilty or did they go to trial and get convicted?

The impact on the victim and offender are looked at. The court considers aggravating factors like the age of a victim and mitigating factors like the offender’s youth.

Many things are looked at and considered when the Judge is handing down a sentence – unless you are in that courtroom, you are not going to have any idea what was looked at.

A lawyer’s preparation for sentencing begins months in advance of  the sentencing date.