McDowell asks group to study sentencing

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell has asked his new expert review group on criminal law to examine the way judges sentence offenders.

Mr McDowell told Cabinet yesterday he had requested the Balance in the Criminal Law Review Group to look at sentencing norms and the case for obliging judges to give reasons for the sentences they hand down.

He updated his Government colleagues on the work of the group in the wake of a call by the Director of Public Prosecutions for judges to be more open in explaining their sentencing decisions to a public he said was often “bewildered” by their actions.

DPP James Hamilton proposed a more structured system of sentencing where there would be a starting point of a particular jail term for each offence, which judges could reduce for mitigating circumstances and increase for aggravating factors, explaining their reasons along the way.

Mr Hamilton’s comments attracted cross-party support yesterday.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe said: “What the DPP says now is what I and Fine Gael have been saying for quite some time. I think we need to make a whole range of changes in relation to sentencing.”

Mr O’Keeffe called for a national register of sentences to be set up so that trends could be spotted and inconsistencies prevented. He said guidelines on sentences should be introduced with set maximum and minimum limits, and said the DPP should be able make a submission on length of sentence considered appropriate to each case.

Fianna Fáil Deputy Denis O’Donovan said inconsistency in sentencing was a problem, particularly in the lower courts where there were often wide variations in the way different judges treated similar offences.

He said judges had reacted negatively in the past to attempts by the legislature to influence the workings of the courts but said continuing education for sitting judges would be helpful.

Green Party justice spokesman Ciaran Cuffe welcomed the DPP’s idea of starting points for sentences. “It is imperative that the Irish judiciary enjoy the full confidence of the Irish people. Implementing this system will improve the public’s understanding of decisions handed down,” he said.

Groups representing victims of crime said they hoped the DPP’s call would be heeded by judges. Victim Support in Cork said the remarks were very welcome as people affected by crime often felt confused by the sentencing process.

Mr Hamilton had expressed concern about public perceptions of what happened in the courts. He said lack of clarity left judges open to accusations of inconsistency in sentencing.