Rennie v Frame
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 20 July 2005 |
| Neutral Citation | 2005 SCCR 608,[2005] HCJAC 83 |
| Docket Number | No 12 |
| Date | 20 July 2005 |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
Appeal Court, High Court of Justiciary
Lord Penrose, Lord Clarke, Lord Kirkwood
Justiciary - Sentencing - Guidance - Road traffic offence - Discretionary disqualification - Substantial personal mitigation - Whether a disqualification appropriate
Justiciary - Sentencing - Plea of guilty - Basis of allowance in sentence for guilty plea - Period of disqualification - Disqualification in interest of public safety - Whether discount for plea of guilty appropriate - Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (cap 46), sec 196(1)
Section 196(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 provides that a court, in determining the sentence to be passed or the disposal or order to be made in respect of an offender who has pled guilty, may take into account the stage in the proceedings at which the offender indicated his intention to plead guilty and the circumstances in which the indication was given.
The appellant pled guilty to a contravention of sec 5(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (cap 52). He had been found by police sitting in his car contemplating suicide. He had a lengthy history of health problems and the sheriff expressed considerable sympathy for him. The appellant had a previous conviction for drink driving but was assessed in a social enquiry report as presenting a low risk of reoffending. He was fined £300 and disqualified from driving for a period of two years. The appellant appealed against the length of disqualification.
The appellant argued that in selecting a period of disqualification at all, insufficient consideration had been given to his personal circumstances and the circumstances of the offence. Further or alternatively it was argued that the sheriff in imposing a disqualification period of two years had failed to allow a discount for the beneficial effects of the appellant's plea of guilty. It was conceded that the issue was properly one of discretion, however the sheriff in considering that it was not open to him to discount the period of disqualification as a matter of discretion had misdirected himself.
Held that: (1) the sheriff could not be criticised for selecting disqualification as an element of the sentence imposed (para 5); (2) the period of two years was within his discretion in all the circumstances (para 5); (3) in selecting the period of disqualification the sheriff had not misdirected himself (para 9); (4) the sheriff had imposed a fine from which he allowed a discount to reflect the beneficial effects of the appellant's plea of guilty (para 9); (5) where the disqualification component of the sentencing package had been fixed as necessary in the interests of the safety of the public and there had been no element of deterrence or punishment of the offender, it would have been inconsistent with the purposes of the disqualification to limit its length in terms of sec 196 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (para 9); (6) having selected a period of two years as necessary in the interests of public safety the sheriff was entitled to take the view that it was not appropriate to allow a discount upon it (para 11); and appeal refused.
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