criminal-law lawyer judge criminal-procedure
Judge&#39;s change of sentence
<p>In a criminal case, can a Judge change his sentence to give a lesser punishment for the crime committed on request of the lawyer of the client who had filed the case?</p>
<p>Example: The Judge has given a sentence of 5 years imprisonment in jail after the defendant is found guilty. Now the person who had filed the case feels that the punishment should be lessened, showing sympathy.</p>
<p>In this case, can the Judge can change their sentence and make the punishment lesser?</p>

<h2>Can a judge change a <em>sentence</em>?</h2>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Once a judge has delivered the sentence the case is finished and the court no longer has jurisdiction.</p>
<h2>Can the sentence be <a href="https://www.hamiltonjanke.com.au/the-appeal-process-in-nsw-courts/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">appealed</a>?</h2>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>Both the defence and the prosecution can appeal the sentence (with or without appealing the verdict). A sentence appeal will only be allowed if:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The sentencing judge has made an error of law; or</li>
<li>The sentencing judge was guided by irrelevant or extreme considerations; or</li>
<li>The sentence was manifestly excessive (or, if the Crown appeals, manifestly inadequate).</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>In theory, the Crown <em>could</em> appeal on the basis the sentence was manifestly excessive but normally the Crown will have indicated to the judge the punishment they were seeking and it would be rare for the judge to exceed that. That is, the Crown almost always wanted more than they got and may appeal if it’s “manifestly inadequate”.</p>

<p>To complement Dale M's answer:</p>
<p>The underlying legal principle why the case is considered finished after delivering the verdict is called <strong>finality</strong>. It exists to protect certainty in case/precedent law, and also to protect parties from never-ending cases.</p>
<p>It is not always/everywhere true though that the courts no longer have jurisdiction after delivering verdicts. In New Zealand, courts are deemed to have &quot;inherent powers&quot; to review their own decisions — but only in exceptional circumstances where there was a <em>procedural</em> error.</p>
<p>If the prosecutor has simply changed their mind about what the punishment needs to be, that's no procedural error, so no chances.</p>
