Guernsey Legal Resources

    The Court of Appeal’s finding that the Royal Court had initially selected the wrong custodial sentencing band will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the final sentence. In sentencing an offender for the importation of Class B drugs, the court should consider the Richards guidelines and sentencing bands and follow the guidance given in Law Officers v. Turner (Royal Ct., December 5th, 2002, unreported, approved), i.e. that the custodial sentence band should be two-thirds of that for importing a similar quantity of Class A drugs. Thus, although it had concluded correctly that a mid-range starting point would be appropriate in the circumstances of this case, the Royal Court had erred in adopting a band of 6–9 years’ imprisonment (with a starting point of 8 years) for the importation of a large quantity of amphetamine sulphate tablets, since the starting point for a similar quantity of Class A drugs would have been 9–12 years. The range should have been 6–8 years, with a starting point of 7 years, but even after the one-third reduction for a guilty plea, the Royal Court’s original sentence of 4½ years’ imprisonment was not manifestly excessive and was, therefore, appropriate (Richards v. Law Officers, C.A., Cases No. 267, 270, 273, 275–277, April 18th, 2002, unreported, applied).