O'Brien v Att. Gen. [2003] JLR 653 (09 December 2003)

O'Brien v Att. Gen. [2003] JLR 653 (09 December 2003)

The court held that, although there is no authoritative Jersey position on plea bargaining, it is proper to give weight to an accused's legitimate expectation arising from an agreement that the Crown's sentencing conclusions would favour a non-custodial sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.

Citation
[2003] JLR 653
Parties
Applicant: O'Brien; Respondent: Attorney General
Jurisdiction
Jersey
Judgment Date
09 December 2003
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentence
Outcome
sentence determined with regard to legitimate expectation from plea agreement
Legal Topics
Plea Bargaining, Sentencing, Legitimate Expectation
Criminal Law Plea Bargaining Sentencing Legitimate Expectation

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

O'Brien

Applicant

Attorney General

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court should give weight to an accused's legitimate expectation arising from a plea agreement with the Crown regarding sentencing recommendations.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that, although there is no authoritative Jersey position on plea bargaining, it is proper to give weight to an accused's legitimate expectation arising from an agreement that the Crown's sentencing conclusions would favour a non-custodial sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.

Court Disposition

sentence determined with regard to legitimate expectation from plea agreement