What is a Mitigation Plea?
- After you have been found guilty and convicted of an offence, the Court will need to consider what type and amount of sentence to impose against you.
- Before the Court decides on and imposes the sentence, you will be given an opportunity to inform the Court of any mitigating factors which you may have. The Prosecution will also have an opportunity to make arguments regarding their views on what the sentence should be.
- Mitigating factors are facts, circumstances and reasons which you feel would justify a more lenient or less serious sentence being imposed against you. These factors can include information and facts relating to your own personal circumstances as well as those relating to the circumstances surrounding how the offence had been committed or occurred.
- Your mitigating factors can be presented orally (spoken) or in a written document.
- The mitigation plea (or plea in mitigation) refers to the written or oral presentation to the Court of your mitigation factors.
- The mitigation plea is presented by your lawyer or by yourself if you are not legally represented.
- A mitigation plea prepared by a lawyer will be in English. However, an interpreter will be provided to translate your mitigation plea for the Court’s understanding if you are not legally represented and you wish to orally present your mitigation plea in another language.
