New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Mitigating factors and discounts

Legal area

Court

11 Nov 2019

W v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 2933

Citation

[2019] NZHC 2933
Court

High Court

The High Court found the District Court's limited mitigation discount produced a manifestly excessive final sentence; increasing the total discount to 20% reduced the uplifted global starting point such that after guilty plea credit the notional end sentence was 24 months which allowed non‑custodial options; the court substituted an end sentence of eight months' home detention (taking into account 4 months already served) and held registration on the Child Sex Offender Register appropriate.
15 Mar 2019

SUCKLING v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 463

Citation

[2019] NZHC 463
Court

High Court

The High Court held the District Court judge correctly adopted a 12 month imprisonment starting point consistent with comparable authorities and the reduced blood alcohol limit, properly weighed mitigating factors including remorse, early plea and substantial reparation, and lawfully imposed a less restrictive sentence of six months' community detention with ancillary orders; the sentence was not manifestly excessive and the appeal was dismissed.
16 May 2018

CHAN v R [2018] NZCA 148

Citation

[2018] NZCA 148
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the sentencing Judge erred by insufficiently differentiating the appellant's materially lesser role when fixing the starting point and uplift; the appropriate starting point for totality was reduced to 20 years with a 20% overall discount for personal mitigation (youth, vulnerability and hardship) less nine months' credit, resulting in a substituted sentence of 15 years and three months' imprisonment; the Judge failed to state reasons under s 86(2) for imposing a minimum period and an MPI was not necessary in this case, so the MPI was quashed.

New Zealand Case Law

W v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 2933

SUCKLING v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 463

CHAN v R [2018] NZCA 148