The Sentencing Act 2020 & The Mental Health Act 1983 - Live at Your Desk

Introduction

The Sentencing Act 2020, which came into force on 1 December 2020, has swept clean the various historic layers of legislation and caselaw in the sentencing of offenders. In doing so, this new legislation makes it clear that the exercise of sentencing each offender is highly individualised and should follow each of the relevant factors laid out in the Code.

There are though no restrictions on any power which enables a court to deal with an offender suffering from a mental disorder in a manner which the court considers most appropriate in the circumstances, leaving it open for the Court to consider the complexity of a defendant’s mental health disorders on a case-by-case basis.

This virtual classroom seminar is a must for both prosecutors and defence advocates at any level of the criminal court process.

It has now become imperative for any competent criminal law practitioner to have a thorough understanding both of mental health conditions and to be able to fully detail the options open to courts.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• The new law underpinning court procedure in remands, trials, reports, sentencing and other disposals
• An assessment of the pros and cons of sharing information with other professionals involved in the case
• The various psychiatric disposals available to the courts and the impact they will have on your clients once the criminal proceedings have come to an end
• The practical differences between S45A MHA hybrid orders and S37/41 MHA hospital and restriction orders, as outlined in R v Nelson [2020]

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.