Conducting a plea of guilty as a duty solicitor

Objectives of a simple guilty plea

Before accepting instructions to act on a plea of guilty, the duty solicitor must ensure that:

the defendant admits the charge;
their instructions do not indicate a defence; and
their case falls within the guidelines for duty solicitor representation (as explained above).

AIM TO ACHIEVE THE OPTIMUM RESULT
Having accepted the defendant’s instructions, the aim for the duty solicitor is to achieve the optimum result by way of penalty for the defendant, such as without conviction, a minimal fine, the shortest reasonable period of licence disqualification, probation conditions that do not set the defendant up to fail, and to make sure the defendant is dealt with fairly and without humiliation. To achieve this, the duty solicitor should try to: avoid unnecessarily long submissions which are tediously formulaic to an experienced Magistrate; and leave the defendant feeling that you fairly and accurately argued his or her side in your words. There are three segments to your plea, usually presented in this order but not necessarily so: The offence itself; The defendant’s circumstances; and then General matters as to the appropriate sentence. This may include submissions as to an application under section 24 of the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) for a penalty of community service and/or a fine without conviction (with a brief summary as to the main mitigating features if there is any need at the end to tie it all together [see Sentencing chapter]. REMEMBER the defendant’s plea of guilty is itself a sign of contrition warranting leniency in sentence. The aim is to achieve the best outcome for the defendant and in the course of submissions the duty solicitor must not make the situation any worse for the defendant.

AIM TO ACHIEVE THE OPTIMUM RESULT

Having accepted the defendant’s instructions, the aim for the duty solicitor is to achieve the optimum result by way of penalty for the defendant, such as without conviction, a minimal fine, the shortest reasonable period of licence disqualification, probation conditions that do not set the defendant up to fail, and to make sure the defendant is dealt with fairly and without humiliation.

To achieve this, the duty solicitor should try to:

avoid unnecessarily long submissions which are tediously formulaic to an experienced Magistrate; and
leave the defendant feeling that you fairly and accurately argued his or her side in your words.

There are three segments to your plea, usually presented in this order but not necessarily so:

The offence itself;
The defendant’s circumstances; and then
General matters as to the appropriate sentence. This may include submissions as to an application under section 24 of the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) for a penalty of community service and/or a fine without conviction (with a brief summary as to the main mitigating features if there is any need at the end to tie it all together [see Sentencing chapter].

REMEMBER the defendant’s plea of guilty is itself a sign of contrition warranting leniency in sentence.

The aim is to achieve the best outcome for the defendant and in the course of submissions the duty solicitor must not make the situation any worse for the defendant.

Conducting a plea of guilty as a duty solicitor : Last Revised: Mon May 21st 2012

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Objectives of a simple guilty plea

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