R v Stokes

The case of R v Stokes involved an appeal against the sentence handed down for armed robbery in company and related drug offences. Stokes had served 35 days of an unrelated six-month sentence and 33 days in pre-sentence custody at the time of sentencing for the robbery and drug offences. The primary judge took these periods of custody into consideration when framing the sentence but failed to take them into account when setting the parole eligibility date. The Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether the judge had erred in this regard.

The legal issue before the court was whether the judge had erred in not also giving credit for the periods of custody in setting the parole eligibility date. The court noted that the primary judge had appropriately reduced the head sentence to two years and eight months to take into account the periods of custody that could not be declared as time served. However, the court found that it was logical and appropriate to also reflect this in setting the parole eligibility date. The court held that the judge had indeed erred in not setting the parole eligibility date about 10 weeks earlier.

The court granted the application for leave to appeal and allowed the appeal by varying the sentence so that the parole release date is fixed at 20 June 2016. The court otherwise confirmed the sentence imposed at first instance. This decision highlights the importance of considering all relevant factors, including periods of custody, when setting both the head sentence and the parole eligibility date in criminal sentencing.