Advance sentence indication

In 2016, a Practice Direction was issued in Jamaica to establish a formal process for judges to provide an early indication of the sentence an accused person will likely receive. This early indicator is called an Advance Sentence Indication.

The Practice Direction which formally establishes the process, governs the practice in Jamaica’s Supreme Court and its Gun Courts and provides guidance for Jamaica’s Parish Courts.

The purposes of an Advance Sentence Indication are many. Advance Sentence Indications help to:

i. Expedite criminal cases;

ii. Reduce trauma experienced by crime victims in the rigours of a trial;

iii. Lessen the time between criminal charges being laid and the disposal of cases;

iv. Reduce the anxiety experienced by accused persons during trial; and

v. Take some guess work out of pleading.

The formal process of seeking an Advance Sentence Indication protects the integrity of court processes by guarding against the feeling, appearance or application of judicial pressure while ensuring that an accused person who seeks an Indication will still be able to be made aware of all he or she may be up against if he or she chooses to make a particular plea to the charge(s) laid. Advance Sentence Indications are given by the presiding judge in the matter. 

An application for an Indication may be written, by filling out brief forms. Or an application for an Advance Sentence Indication may be made orally during court. An accused person may request an indication relating to: 

a. the type of sentence (custodial or non-custodial; term of imprisonment, suspended sentence or fine);

b. the quantum (duration or amount) of the sentence; and/or

c. the type of sentence the judge would not impose.

 When a request for an Advance Sentence Indication is made a judge must receive certain information from the accused person (or the accused person’s lawyer) and prosecuting counsel before granting an Indication. The judge may request any other report or information he or she considers useful in granting the Indication.

A judge does not have to provide an Indication if he or she does not wish to and a judge is not obliged to provide a reason for not giving an Indication. However, a judge’s previous refusal to give an Indication does not preclude an accused person from requesting an Indication yet again, nor does previous refusal preclude a presiding judge from giving an Indication at a later stage if he or she is so minded.

Even though an accused person may make multiple requests for Advance Sentence Indications, he or she is not permitted to make several requests for an Indication with different pleas to the same charge. This kind of cherry-picking is not allowed.

It must be noted also that a request for an Advance Sentence Indication is not on par with making a plea, meaning that ultimately, the accused person still decides whether he will plead guilty. If an accused person wishes to request a Sentence Indication, he or she must bear in mind that unless circumstances change, and such circumstances are considered exceptional, he or she will not be allowed to request another Indication if one has already been granted.

A Sentence Indication, once given, is recorded by the Court and is binding on the judge who gave it and on any judge who may assume conduct of the matter. Notwithstanding this, a Sentence Indication has a shelf life and expires at 4pm on the date specified by the Court, or where no date is specified, five working days after the date on which the Sentence Indication was given.