How can case law (precedent) help Probation Officers identify relevant aggravating & mitigating circumstanc

Question

How can case law (precedent) help Probation Officers identify relevant aggravating & mitigating circumstanc

Answer 1

You'd use case law by looking for comparable cases that were reported, and the reasoning given for the sentence eventually imposed. Often the cases will be appeals against sentence, and the court of appeal will often comment on the role played by various factors in the eventual sentence. So if you were looking at a case of robbery - you'd find precedent about the significance of vulnerable victims, attacks at night, use of a weapon etc. You'd also find cases about the significance of the defendant having an unhappy family life, being an alchoholic, or (as in one case I observed) having being falsely convicted of murder and spent his teenage years in prison.

Case law, though will tend to be secondary to sentencing guidelines from the council or Magistrate's court guidelines. Cases are most likely to help if the facts in the immediate case are very similar to the facts in the reported case.

Answer 2

Perhaps you need to start here http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/ and see how reported cases measure up.