Sentencing for summary offences - contrast between Ireland and England.

political analyst

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/07/tory-activist-jailed-for-violent-threats-against-yvette-cooper

A Conservative activist who sent messages claiming to have paid “crackheads” £100 to beat up the Labour MP Yvette Cooper and warned that “if you make peaceful revolution difficult you make a violent one inevitable” has been jailed for nine weeks.

Joshua Spencer, who received a character reference from the Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, attended Cooper’s general election count in December as a representative of the Conservative party despite being under investigation by West Yorkshire police after his arrest.

The unemployed 25-year-old, a constituent of Cooper’s, was arrested in April last year and stood for the Conservatives in May’s local elections.

The defendant in this case was sentenced by a magistrate.

I'm aware that magistrates, like district judges here in the Republic, hear summary cases.

Why would a summary case where it's the defendant's first offence and which does not involve violence (as opposed to making threats) be more likely to lead to a custodial sentence in England than here in the Republic (given that both are common-law jurisdictions - and I'm aware that the position of magistrate was abolished here upon independence)?

nuac

Mod
Is this for a an essay or paper?

political analyst

nuac wrote: »

Mod
Is this for a an essay or paper?

Do I need to give a reason for my OP? What's wrong with asking about differences in sentencing between two jurisdictions that have the same type of law? Surely, I don't need to be a law student to ask a question, do I?

Samuel T. Cogley

political analyst wrote: »

Do I need to give a reason for my OP? What's wrong with asking about differences in sentencing between two jurisdictions that have the same type of law? Surely, I don't need to be a law student to ask a question, do I?

I think it's more likely to get locked if you were a law student. This isn't a home work service.

To answer your question we're softer on sentencing than England and Wales, there are all sorts of theories as to why. My pet one is we simply don't have the prison spaces.

That said a similar case here involving TDs - a dim view is likely to be taken.

Peregrinus

The UK has offical, published sentencing guidelines. (This is probably not unconnected with the fact that they have an amateur magistracy, who might be fairly lost without them). You can read the sentencing guidelines for this offence here. The basic offence is sending an electronic message "that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character".

All other things being equal, factors that would suggest a sentence at the lower end of the scale include a first offence, and a guilty plea.

As against that, I can spot a couple of aggravating factors. There were threats of violence included, which makes the messages more serious. They tended to corrupt the political process, which is an additiona factor not normally present in these offences. There has been a large growth in the number of such messages directed at politicians, which suggests that there may be need for greater deterrence. And it took place in the context of Jo Cox's murder; Spencer had an animus against Cooper in part because she had participated in a commemoration of Jo Cox.

So far aas I know there are no published Irish sentencing guidelines that could be compared against the UK ones.

GM228

Peregrinus wrote: »

So far aas I know there are no published Irish sentencing guidelines that could be compared against the UK ones.

Something which is to be created by the new Judicial Council, but probably a long way off.