Title: Sentences without Conviction: Protecting an Offender from Unwarranted Discrimination in Employment
Abstract:In all Australian jurisdictions, courts have discretion to impose a sentence
without recording a conviction. Legislation sets out factors relevant to
the exercise of the court’s discretion and in Ta...In all Australian jurisdictions, courts have discretion to impose a sentence
without recording a conviction. Legislation sets out factors relevant to
the exercise of the court’s discretion and in Tasmania, Victoria and
Queensland, the court is directed (among other matters) to have regard
to the economic or social consequences for an offender of recording a
conviction, including its impact on the offender’s employment prospects.
Non-conviction sentences have been criticised for failing to achieve this
objective, with some commentators proposing their abolition. This article
examines the discretion to sentence without conviction, in relation to adult
offenders in Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland and considers whether
non-conviction sentences are able to protect an offender from unwarranted
discrimination in employment. It argues that the employment protections
to those who are not formally convicted are largely illusory in some
contexts, and advances legislative recommendations that provide a more
coherent approach to give effect to the judicial intent of not recording a
conviction.Read More
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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