Before a client enters a plea of guilty the criminal code requires that one of the things an accused person must understand is that ultimately the sentence imposed is up to the Judge, not the Crown or the defence lawyer. That scares some clients, however a Judge is not to reject a joint submission on sentence made by the Crown and defence unless there are cogent reasons for doing so. “Cogent reasons may include, among others, where the sentence is unfit, unreasonable, would bring the administration of justice into disrepute or be contrary to the public interest. It must be more than an opinion on the part of the sentencing judge that the sentence would not be enough (and not just) because the sentencing judge wants to “send this guy to jail””. Here is a link to the actual decision: http://www.canlii.org/en/mb/mbca/doc/2016/2016mbca34/2016mbca34.html
Case: R v Giesbrecht, 2016 MBCA 34 (CanLII) Keywords: Fraud; Joint Sentencing Recommendation; Prearranged Funeral Services Act, CCSM c F200; R v. Sharpe (KD), 2009 MBCA 50 (CanLII); R. v. Sinclair (E.J.), 2004 MBCA 48 (CanLII); s. 742.3(1) of the Criminal Code Synopsis: The Appellant, Mr. Harvey Giesbrecht, owns a funeral home in Beausejour; enters …
Source: Supreme Advocacy LLP