Liam Edwards has successfully resisted the Solicitor General’s application in the Court of Appeal to refer a sentence of a conditional discharge imposed for a third-strike burglary as unduly lenient.
The case concerned principles of totality and the circumstances in which a Defendant can properly be expected to ‘wipe the slate clean’. The Defendant received a sentence of 6 years and 3 months for 6 dwelling burglaries in June 2024. This further burglary pre-dated that sentence by over two years (December 2022).
The Solicitor General asked for a sentence of a three-year conditional discharge for a third strike burglary to be increased to a sentence of immediate imprisonment.
The Court of Appeal concluded the Solicitor General’s application was without merit. Whilst an unusual course, the imposition of a conditional discharge was a justified and appropriate sentence in all of the circumstances.
The full judgement can be read here.
Liam was instructed by Emma Lambie at Murray Hughman.