New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Concurrent sentences

Legal area

Court

23 Aug 2023

WIWARENA v R [2023] NZCA 384

Citation

[2023] NZCA 384
Court

Court of Appeal

Leave to bring a second appeal is granted only for the limited purpose of correcting the error that three convictions (Charges 1,4 and 11) could not lawfully attract imprisonment because the offender was under 18 at the time; the imprisonment terms on those charges are quashed and replaced by convictions and discharges; no other error found in the High Court's sentencing approach, including the 12-year starting point and discounts applied, and the rest of the sentence stands.
8 Feb 2023

THE KING v STEVENS [2023] NZHC 144

Citation

[2023] NZHC 144
Court

High Court

Starting point of 3.5 years for aggravated robbery increased by three months to 3 years 9 months to reflect related burglary and breach; substantial mitigation (25% for mental health and background) plus 25% for guilty plea produced a total effective discount of 50% reducing the effective sentence to 22 months imprisonment for aggravated robbery; burglary (3 months) and breach (1 month) to be served concurrently; home detention unsuitable due to homelessness; post-release standard six months conditions imposed.
9 Sept 2022

R v KINGI [2022] NZHC 2298

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2298
Court

High Court

The court sentenced the defendant to four months' home detention on each of three conspiracy charges, to be served concurrently with each other and concurrently with the defendant's existing 12 months' home detention imposed 14 January 2022; the new home detention is to be served at the same address and on the same terms and conditions as the earlier sentence.
2 Sept 2022

R v AHLAWAT [2022] NZHC 2233

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2233
Court

High Court

Because the defendant was the sole instigator who deliberately planned arson and cynically used a vulnerable person as an innocent agent, her culpability was high; having regard to comparable authorities the appropriate starting point was nine years six months, reduced by four months for co-operation via VMR and by a modest additional discount for limited criminal history, youth and prospects of rehabilitation, producing a sentence of eight years three months for manslaughter and a concurrent five year sentence for arson, effective eight years three months' imprisonment.
1 Sept 2022

R v MUDFORD [2022] NZHC 2222

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2222
Court

High Court

Given the admitted facts bordering on aggravated robbery the Court fixed a starting point of four years for the robbery uplifted by six months for the assault and offending while on release (4.5 years = 54 months). It then applied a 20% discount for personal factors including youth and a 15% discount for guilty pleas, reducing the sentence to 35 months (two years and eleven months). The assault sentence of 12 months is ordered concurrent to produce a total sentence of two years and eleven months.
29 Jun 2021

MARTINE GENET v THE RSPCA [2021] NZCA 277

Citation

[2021] NZCA 277
Court

Court of Appeal

Extension of time to appeal was declined because applicant gave inadequate explanation for nearly four years' delay, produced no corroborating evidence or fresh evidence and the proposed appeal lacked apparent merit; statutory silence on concurrent disqualification orders means ordinary meaning applies so overlapping disqualification periods run concurrently and the later order continues after the earlier expires, leaving the applicant disqualified until 7 December 2026; applicant may apply under s169A for removal or variation after two years from the second order.
13 Oct 2020

RENWICK v R [2020] NZCA 480

Citation

[2020] NZCA 480
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court granted an extension of time, allowed the appeal, and held that a discrete additional guilty plea discount of 15% applied to the starting point was appropriate in this case of voluntary self-reporting following acquittal and exceptional remorse; applying the combined discounts in accordance with Moses v R reduced the starting point of seven years and six months by a total of 60% resulting in substituted sentences of three years for rape and two years concurrent for unlawful sexual connection.
10 Jul 2020

R v MORRIS (aka PHIPPS) [2020] NZHC 1662

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1662
Court

High Court

Preventive detention imposed because the offender, despite age and prior treatments, poses a high and ongoing risk of qualifying sexual offending (confirmed by expert assessments and 2017 offending), prior Court of Appeal warning and failure of prior interventions meant no finite sentence would adequately protect the public; minimum period fixed at five years; concurrent determinate terms imposed for non‑qualifying historical counts resulting in an effective sentence of preventive detention.
9 Dec 2019

R v WINITANA [2019] NZHC 3229

Citation

[2019] NZHC 3229
Court

High Court

The Court must impose the statutory maximum of seven years for the stage‑3 offence of wounding with intent and order it be served without parole unless doing so would be manifestly unjust; on the facts (extreme violence, serious injury, victim vulnerability, violent criminal history and high reoffending risk) the manifestly unjust exception did not apply, so the Court imposed seven years' imprisonment without parole and a concurrent 12‑month sentence for disabling, both concurrent with existing sentences.
1 Aug 2019

R v WALKER [2019] NZHC 1906

Citation

[2019] NZHC 1906
Court

High Court

The appropriate starting point for the combined offending was nine years' imprisonment (broken down as five years for manslaughter, three years for kidnapping and one year for conspiracy/mistreating remains); this was uplifted by six months for prior serious violent offending to 9 years 6 months; a 25% reduction was applied for early guilty pleas, producing an effective sentence of seven years' imprisonment; concurrent sentences were ordered so the manslaughter term controlled the overall sentence because the offences arose from the same course of conduct and the manslaughter was aggravated b…