The Supreme Court has the intriguing sentencing by Justice Penfold of one “MJ” who was caught mugging two kids at the Belco bowl and nicking their iphone, which is lied about when questioned.
Aside from the normal sad stories this line intrigued me:
The current offence was committed in breach of a good behaviour order imposed in April 2010, but MJ has already been dealt with for another breach of that good behaviour order, so I shall take no further action on it.
Canberra’s crims will be thrilled to know that good behaviour orders max out after one breach.
Then there’s this line:
In short, it means that for the next 15 months you need to stay out of trouble. If you commit another offence during that time, you may find yourself back before this court to be re-sentenced for this offence.
One would think that MJ could stay out of trouble for the rest of his life, like most people, but there’s a fallacy of reasoning there.
He won’t be in trouble if he commits an offence, he’ll be in trouble if he gets caught. It’s a distinction most of us got out heads around in our early teens.
It closes like a graduation ceremony:
MJ , you’ve had a difficult time for most of your life. It would be nice to think that you are now ready to put that behind you and make a new and better life for yourself. I wish you good luck in your efforts. You may sit down.