District courts report - Sentencing policy makes for bad law

SENTENCES handed down by district court judges sometimes give rise to public concern over the apparent lack of rationale behind certain judgments.

But the problem is much worse than one might imagine, judging by an alarming report out today. Essentially, it claims that up to two thirds of judges offer no reason whatever for sentencing, while others give “casual remarks” and “rarely” state the basis for their judgments.

It would be folly of the judiciary to dismiss the findings of this report from the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT). Generally speaking, the rulings are so inconsistent they have been described as a “sentencing lottery.”