A lot has been written about sentencing. There are countless cases creating a body of well-settled law: trial courts possess, within statutorily prescribed limits, broad discretion in sentencing matters, which means they can “conduct an inquiry broad in scope, largely unlimited either as to the kind of information [they] may consider, or the source from which it may come.”

A defendant’s demeanor, criminal history, [PSI], prospect for rehabilitation and general remorse or lack thereof for the crimes of which they stand convicted are all factors that the court may consider in fashioning an appropriate sentence. Notwithstanding this highly deferential standard of review, the trial court’s discretion is not unfettered, and while a court generally may deny leniency to a defendant who elects to exercise a statutory or constitutional right, a trial court may not retaliate against a defendant by increasing his sentence merely because of the exercise of such a right.

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