Calculating guilty plea credit after a plea at the PTPH and a lost Newton hearing
Zara Ahmed is charged with an either-way offence. At her first appearance in the magistrates' court she indicates a not guilty plea and the case is sent to the Crown Court. At the plea and trial preparation hearing she pleads guilty, but on a basis the prosecution does not accept. The judge holds a Newton hearing and rejects her version of events. The judge decides that the sentence after a trial would have been 24 months' imprisonment, that a one-quarter reduction would have been appropriate at the stage she pleaded, and that no further decrease is warranted beyond the guideline's normal approach to a lost Newton hearing.
Applying the Sentencing Council's guilty plea guideline, what sentence should the judge impose?
Choose one answer to see the reasoning.
Worked answer
Correct answer A: 21 months' imprisonment.
THE RULE TO REMEMBER
Credit is one-third at the first stage and at most one-quarter afterwards; if the offender's version is rejected at a Newton hearing, the available reduction is normally halved.
Calculating guilty plea credit after a plea at the PTPH and a lost Newton hearing
Section 73 of the Sentencing Act 2020 requires the court to take into account the stage at which, and circumstances in which, a guilty plea was indicated, and the Sentencing Council's Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea guideline sets the amounts. A plea indicated at the first stage attracts one-third; after the first stage the maximum is one-quarter, sliding to one-tenth on the first day of trial. Zara indicated not guilty in the magistrates' court, so her plea at the PTPH falls after the first stage, and the judge has found one-quarter appropriate. The guideline adds that where an offender's version is rejected at a Newton hearing, the reduction which would have been available should normally be halved. Halving one-quarter gives one-eighth. One-eighth of 24 months is 3 months, so the sentence is 21 months.
Why B is wrong: This applies a one-third reduction, available only where the plea is indicated at the first stage.
Why C is wrong: This applies the full one-quarter reduction without halving it for the lost Newton hearing.
Why D is wrong: The guideline halves the reduction after a lost Newton hearing; it does not remove all credit.
Why E is wrong: This applies a one-twelfth reduction, which matches neither the stage of plea nor the halving after a lost Newton hearing.
A little more practice done.
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