Section 30 — Sentencing Act 2002: No sentence of imprisonment to be imposed without opportunity for legal representation

30 No sentence of imprisonment to be imposed without opportunity for legal representation (1) No court may impose a sentence of imprisonment on an offender who has not been legally represented at the stage of the proceedings at which the offender was at risk of conviction, except as provided in subsection (2) . (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the court is satisfied that the offender— (a) was informed of his or her rights relating to legal representation, including, where appropriate, the right to apply for legal aid under the Legal Services Act 2000 ; and (b) fully understood those rights; and (c) had the opportunity to exercise those rights; and (d) refused or failed to exercise those rights, or engaged counsel but subsequently dismissed him or her. (3) If, on any appeal against sentence, a court finds that a sentence was imposed in contravention of subsection (1) , the court must either— (a) quash the sentence imposed and impose in substitution for it any other lawful sentence that the court thinks ought to have been imposed; or (b) quash the conviction and direct a new hearing or trial, or make any other order that justice requires. (4) For the purposes of this section, an offender refuses or fails to exercise his or her rights relating to legal representation if the offender— (a) refuses or fails to apply for legal aid under the Legal Services Act 2000 or applies for it unsuccessfully; and (b) refuses or fails to engage counsel by other means. Compare: 1985 No 120 s 10