When does a criminal charge involve a jail term?
The statute provision will indicate if the criminal offence that you are charged with involves a mandatory jail term. The imposition of a mandatory jail term is made clear in the phrasing of the statute provision.
For example, Section 380 of the Penal Code attracts a mandatory jail term, as evidenced in the phrasing that “whoever commits theft … shall be punished with imprisonment” which is clear language to the effect that a jail term is mandatory for anyone convicted of this offence.
380. Whoever commits theft in any building, tent or vessel, which building, tent or vessel is used as a human dwelling, or for the custody of property, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 7 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
To be completely sure if the offence that you are charged with attracts or does not attract a mandatory jail term, please engage an experienced criminal defence lawyer who will be able to explain clearly to you whether the offence attracts a mandatory jail term.
How long will my jail term be?
This depends. Some offences carry fixed prison sentences, in which a person will have to spend a set amount of time behind bars. The court cannot make any adjustments to this sentence, such as by imposing a fine instead or amending the duration of the jail term.
On the other hand, some offences carry minimum prison sentences, where a person has to be behind bars for at least a minimum amount of time, as prescribed by the law. This minimum sentence may be mandatory or specified. A specified minimum sentence means you can be punished in the manner provided but also imposed with a difference sentence, such as probation(link to CRL-5.1) in place of a jail term.
A Criminal Defence lawyer will also be able to provide you with information regarding the typical sentence that accompanies the criminal offence that you are charged with.
