June 1st, 2010 by admin

The general role of a judge in a criminal case is to ensure that the case they are hearing is fair and complies with all current laws. It is the job of a judge to apply the statute laws that impact on the case they are hearing, and also consider any common laws that may also be relevant. As judges are independent of the state and the police, their decisions cannot usually be challenged. However, you can make an appeal against the decision of a judge if you think there were irregularities in the case or that the judge did not take into account all the evidence.
The decisions that judges make regarding the cases they hear is always recorded so that other judges can use this information when imposing sentences in the criminal cases they are hearing in their courts. Also, judges in lower courts – such as the magistrates’ court – will use the decisions made by judges in higher courts as a guide when they pass sentence for criminal offences they deal with. This is to ensure that the courts have a level of integration and that punishments handed down to convicted criminals are similar based on the offence committed.

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The penalty that a judge imposes on a convicted criminal will be based on guidelines they must follow. Sentences will consider how the offender should be punished, how the sentence could reduce overall crime, how the penalty would protect the public, how the penalty would impact on the rehabilitation of the offender and how the penalty will offer a level of restitution to the community.

The guidelines that judges use are issued by the Court of Appeal and by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, but judges do not have to follow them as a matter of law. All criminal offences do, however, have a maximum penalty that a judge can hand down. And some crimes also have a minimum penalty that a judge must impose. Some serious crimes have a mandatory sentence, for example murder which is always punishable by life imprisonment. Judges will use all the available information, statute and common law, plus available guidelines, when imposing a penalty on someone found guilty of a criminal offence.