header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
08 December 2023 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Features , Profession , Criminal
printer mail-detail

Zander’s reflections: 8 December 2023

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
150572
Michael Zander KC on how he helped to derail Lord Carter’s proposed sentencing reforms

In 2008, although I had never previously written about sentencing, I did my best to help derail proposals for reform of sentencing put forward by Lord Carter of Coles in his report, ‘Securing the Future— Proposals for the Efficient and Sustainable Use of Custody in England and Wales’ (December 2007), which I described in print as ‘a contender for the title of Worst Report of Recent Years’ (‘Which way to go?’, 158 NLJ 869).

Carter’s report recommended the introduction of a US-style structured sentencing framework based on a grid aimed at a drastic reduction of judicial discretion. There had been no call for evidence, no consultation paper and the report made no reference to the considerable literature on the subject. No one on the Sentencing Advisory Panel or the Sentencing Guidelines Council had been asked for their opinion. There was no list of those who had been consulted.

Carter’s report recommended the setting up

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll