Commonwealth specified discounts

The obligation to quantify the discount for an early guilty plea in Sentencing Act 1991 s6AAA has clearly troubled Victorian judges. From the early comments about trying to unscramble an omelette to complaints about it being an artificial exercise, it is clear that judges are uncomfortable with the deviation from the intuitive synthesis required by the legislation. However, its worth remembering that s6AAA isn't unique. Section 21E of the Commonwealth Crimes Act (not to be confused with the Commonwealth Criminal Code), requires judges to quantify the discount for promised future cooperation. This quantification then becomes relevant as a kind of 'ceiling' on an appellate court if the offender fails to provide the promised cooperation.