Artificial Intelligence to Assist Unrepresented Defendants in Sentencing Hearings

Nearly half of defendants in criminal matters in Australian courts are not represented by lawyers. This causes considerable problems for defendants and the criminal justice system. This article suggests that a properly developed artificial intelligence program could provide individualised guidance to defendants regarding how to present their case in the most favourable light and give them an accurate range of the likely sentence that would be imposed. This would ameliorate many of the problems stemming from defendants being unrepresented in sentencing matters. The program would also assist lawyers with sentencing matters and enhance community understanding of sentencing law and practice. However, it could not be used by courts to improve the sentencing decision-making process. This is because the instinctive synthesis approach to sentencing is highly nuanced and cannot be accurately replicated by algorithms.