Wiki World: sentences

It seems that you can get away with anything if you put up an absurd defense. A woman was charged for driving her car without lights while the car had a flat tyre. The woman's defence was that she had taken the sleeping drug Stilnox earlier and she couldn't remember driving. Being interviewed by police was also lost to her memory.

Remember the weird claims made when Prozac was first brought onto the market? You don't hear anything bad about Prozac today. The same thing will happen for Stilnox. If the drug is so dangerous it would not have been allowed onto the market at all. It is just convenient to have something to blame for strange behavior.

The Court found in favor of the woman. It must be said when reviewing court decisions that the government puts weird people in charge of courts. Magistrates and judges continue to give lenient sentences despite pleadings by police and the public. They are certainly a law unto themselves. Indeed, many judges believe that they are above the law. They see the separation of powers as an avenue to become dictators which gives them the right to make absurd decisions. They recently found a fellow judge not guilty of sexual assault!

Law by Ty Buchanan

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There is not much doubt that the majority of Australians believe judges to be too lenient in sentencing. Drivers have been convicted of dangerous driving and homicide and have been given suspended sentences. Premeditated murderers have had to serve only five years in jail.

It seems once judges get their positions they favor convicted criminals. No wonder state governments are looking at legislation to force courts into tougher sentencing. The South Australian government is planning new laws to limit the use of suspended sentencing. Chief justice Chris Kourakis claims this is interfering with the independence of the legal system vis-a-vis government and the executive. But if judges do not sentence and meet public expectations intervention is necessary.

Serial offenders are given a slap on the wrist and are released to continue their illegal behavior. Some even laugh their way out of court. Intervention is also needed to have the criminal history of suspected offenders known at trial. Why shouldn't past behavior be used against criminals?

Chief Justice Chris Kourakis says "In general, the greater the discretion that a judge has the more the judge can fit the penalty to the particular crime." However, most believe that judges are not doing this. He admits though that governments have always set the parameters used in the legal system.