Sentencing

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has increased a child murderer's sentence from 13 to 16 years, despite fears of double jeopardy and failures by the prosecution, as the interests of justice demanded it. This was a reference brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland

Sentences handed down by judges in the south of England are more likely to be referred back to the courts as unduly lenient as those handed down by their northern colleagues, according to new research. Of all the sentences handed down in England and Wales from the start of 2020 to the end of 2022, a

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a 12-year sentence in relation to cultivating cannabis was not excessive, given the scope and value of the operation, and the control exercised by the accused. However, the court did reduce a separate sentence which had been applied concur

The Court of Appeal has determined that it has limited jurisdiction to review a sentence imposed on a child who attained maturity by the time of an appeal. It was held that the court’s powers to review the severity of sentence involving detention were limited by statute to either quashing a co

There are close to 300 children in the State whose mothers are imprisoned, with devastating effects on the children and their families, according to a new report. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) estimates that 278 children are impacted by maternal imprisonment and recommends that the courts take

The Court of Appeal has upheld a 10-year sentence imposed on a man who entered into a coercive sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. The girl had a child with the man during the abuse. The accused had pleaded guilty to one count of the defilement of a child and one count of sexual assault. De

The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence for a young man convicted of dangerous driving which caused the death of a young woman in Oughterard, County Galway. The man had originally been sentenced to three years' imprisonment with 18 months suspended. However, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy held tha

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed all grounds of appeal against a 24-year murder sentence. The court found that this sentence was neither excessive nor unlawful and a three-year reduction following a late-stage guilty plea was sufficient, if not “generous”.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the DPP against a sentence of three years and three months' imprisonment for a young woman convicted of gross negligence manslaughter of her infant child. The final three years of the sentence were suspended by the trial judge and the DPP argued that th

The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence for a Romanian national who repeatedly raped a young woman in 2018. The man was previously sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by the Central Criminal Court, with the final three-and-a-half years suspended due to the accused not speaking English and not

The Supreme Court has held that the victims of crime may not generally influence the sentence imposed by a trial judge on a convicted criminal, but stated that a court may take into account a plea for leniency when making a final determination on the appropriate sentence. The decision arose from an

The Court of Appeal has held that the sentence for a man who impeded the investigation and apprehension of the murderer of Thomas Farnan was too lenient. The sentence was initially set by the trial judge at four years with the final 18 months suspended but the Court of Appeal held that the appropria

The High Court has quashed a sentence for burglary on the basis that the trial judge erred by refusing to allow counsel an opportunity to take instructions from their client. The defendant had pleaded guilty to stealing €5,000 from a house in at a hearing in 2021. Delivering judgment in the cas

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld a 19-year prison sentence for offences committed by a father against his 12-day-old son. The court accepted that this was a stiff sentence, but found it reasonable given the nature of the acts in question, and given the appellant’s lack of re

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal brought by an accused who claimed that the Court of Appeal failed to consider the totality principle in his case. The man had successfully argued in the Court of Appeal that the trial judge had erred in sentencing him for several indecent assault offences, but