Sentencing: There are only two certainties in the area of sentencing - the fact that sentences for apparently similar crimes vary widely, and similar sentences are handed down for very different types of crimes.
For example, six months sentences were handed down recently for crimes that included possession of 46 tablets of ecstasy, the sexual abuse of a child by a priest and spitting at a bus driver.
Legislation classifying certain acts as crimes normally specifies the maximum sentence that can be applied when an accused person is found guilty. But that maximum sentence is rarely ap- plied, and can only be applied when a serious version of the crime has been committed, when the person does not plead guilty, and when there have been previous convictions.
An early guilty plea and co-operation with the investigation, restitution if applicable, a hitherto clean record and a moderate level of criminal activity, are all mitigating factors when handing down sentence.
The maximum sentence available to the court yesterday in the case against Ray Burke was five years, along with a fine of €12,700. Burke was never going to receive the maximum sentence. He made restitution in the form of a settlement with the Revenue, he pleaded guilty and, according to the court, co-operated with the investigation. It also took account of his age and apparent ill-health.
However, it found that the breach of trust involved in his being a member of the Oireachtas, and an architect of the very law under which he was convicted, was an aggravating circumstance, which ensured that he would receive a custodial sentence.