Criminology Research Council grant ; (23/75)
The culmination of this research project was the publication in 1980 of a book Sentencing in South Australia by The Law Book Company in association with the Australian Institute of Criminology. The study is based on a collection of South Australian sentencing decisions carefully analysed in a way that enables those concerned with the practice of sentencing to identify and apply those principles, enunciated mainly by the appellate courts of South Australia, that cannot but assist in the attainment of greater consistency and order in the sentencing process.
The book is divided into three chapters. The first chapter entitled 'General Matters' deals with a broad range of issues. It includes a section dealing with the jurisdiction of the courts in South Australia to entertain appeals, and the 'error principle' of appellate court intervention is discussed. Other specific issues examined include the purpose of sentencing, factors aggravating or mitigating of sentence and many other matters which are relevant or impinge upon the determination of sentence. The second chapter examines specific sanctions, such as imprisonment, probation, fines and reparation. There is also discussion on pre-sentence reports. Chapter three looks specifically at sentencing road traffic offenders and alcohol and drug offenders.
In the Foreword to the book, the former Chief Justice of South Australia, Dr J. J. Bray, comments that 'the exposition is clear and thorough and the research is exhaustive'. His Honour also expresses the view that the work 'will possess a permanent value for the historian and the sociologist, apart from its more practical use as a legal textbook'. The work complements an earlier book by Miss Daunton-Fear Sentencing in Western Australia published by the University of Queensland Press in 1977.