Checklist · Criminal Law
Guilty plea sentencing preparation checklist: purposes, s 21A factors, plea discount and subjective material (NSW)
Checklist for preparing a NSW sentence hearing after a guilty plea: agreed facts, purposes of sentencing, s 21A aggravating and mitigating factors, the plea discount under s 22 or ss 25D and 25E, imprisonment as a last resort, and the subjective case and its evidence.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the 4 authorities it cites, for New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use once a client has instructed the firm to plead guilty in the Local Court, District Court or Supreme Court of NSW, to plan the evidence and submissions for sentence. Use it with the sentencing submissions precedent and the character referee guidance letter in this library, which it does not replace.
Used for these tasks
- Draft written submissions on a plea in the Local Court of New South Wales
- Prepare a mitigation pack: character material and a facts-check list
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may organise the agreed facts, history and subjective material into the checklist and list factors the material may engage; the lawyer decides which factors are argued, the discount and what evidence is tendered.
AI may
- Set out the agreed facts and the criminal history against each s 21A factor they may engage, with references, for the lawyer to assess
- Calculate the plea timing against the discount rules from the court dates, for the lawyer to confirm
- List the subjective material held and missing (reports, references, employment, treatment), with dates
AI must not
- Must not write character references, the client’s letter of apology or any statement the client signs
- Must not decide the applicable discount or whether a factor is made out
- Must not suggest comparable sentences or authorities that the lawyer has not checked
- Must not process the brief, the history or medical reports in a tool outside the firm’s approved environment
The lawyer checks
- The agreed facts were settled with the prosecutor and the client confirmed them before they were handed up
- The discount regime is right: s 22 for summary matters and indictable matters outside Div 1A, ss 25D and 25E for offences dealt with on indictment
- Remorse is put only where the evidence shows the client accepted responsibility and acknowledged the harm or made reparation (s 21A(3)(i))
- Every report and reference tendered was checked for accuracy, and any character reference is in the referee’s own words
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Criminal Law
- Bail application submissions (NSW release application)
- Client’s written instructions to plead guilty, with record of advice and acknowledgment of the facts
- Letter of advice on the brief of evidence and plea options
- Representations to the DPP seeking charge resolution or withdrawal
- Letter to the prosecution requesting service of the brief of evidence and missing material (NSW Local Court)
- Plain-language letter to a client explaining their bail conditions and what happens if they are breached (NSW)
- Sentencing submissions and guidance letter for character referees
- Defended hearing preparation and attendance checklist (NSW Local Court summary proceedings)
- Application under s 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW)
- Protocol: AI-assisted review of the prosecution brief and digital evidence
- Checklist: challenging or authenticating suspected AI-generated (deepfake) evidence
All precedents for Criminal Law · Tasks and AI use in this area