Court of Appeal quashes sentence for production of cannabis and grants a conditional discharge

Louise’s client, SH, had been working in a cannabis factory and had pleaded guilty to the charge of being involved in the production of Class B on the basis that he was pressured into it. SH had spent significant time in prison on remand and on qualifying curfew: altogether, he had spent the equivalent of a 2-year prison sentence on remand. This amounted to 4 times the maximum sentence within his category on the sentencing guidelines

In sentencing SH, the Judge in the Crown Court failed to use his discretion to take into account SH’s time spent on remand. Instead of sentencing SH to time served as requested by Louise, the Judge sentenced SH to a high-level community order with 180 hours of unpaid work, 6 months’ GPS trail monitoring, and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Louise appealed this sentence as it imposed new and onerous punitive elements whilst SH had already been severely punished.

The Court of Appeal allowed Louise’s appeal and found that the Judge’s sentence was manifestly excessive. The Court praised Louise’s “admirably clear and succinct” grounds of appeal and substituted the sentence with a conditional discharge of 6 months. 

Louise Willocx was instructed by Tricia O’Sullivan and Izzy Chandler of Sperrin Law.