[2009] EWHC 1504 (Admin)

Magistrates adjourning a sentencing exercise for the preparation of pre-sentence reports should never express an indication of likely sentence unless they were reserving the case to themselves for sentencing or where it was absolutely obvious that a certain type of sentence should be considered or not considered. The practice of giving a sentencing indication in any other circumstances was to be thoroughly deprecated.

DC (Stanley Burnton LJ, Wilkie J)

11/06/2009