New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Organised criminal group

Legal area

Court

9 Aug 2023

R v PURU [2023] NZHC 2112

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2112
Court

High Court

A four year starting point for participation in an organised criminal group was appropriate; applying a 15% guilty plea discount and further reductions of 10% for age/rehabilitative prospects, 5% for the defendant's son's needs, and 20% for extensive time on bail/electronic monitoring reduced the effective sentence by 50% to two years, and in light of exceptional personal circumstances the court imposed 12 months home detention rather than immediate imprisonment.
5 May 2023

WILLIAMS v R [2023] NZCA 156

Citation

[2023] NZCA 156
Court

Court of Appeal

Court held the starting point of nine years and two months was within Zhang band three and appropriate given 463.15 g and a significant operational role; however the sentencing discount for causative personal mitigation and for demonstrable remorse/rehabilitative potential was inadequate in comparison with co-offenders and case law, so an increased mitigation discount (total 25% for background plus separate credit for remorse/rehabilitation combined with guilty plea credit) and deduction for EM time produced an end concurrent sentence of three years and eleven months, and the original sentenc…
6 Mar 2023

BOLEA v THE KING [2023] NZCA 39

Citation

[2023] NZCA 39
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the Judge did not err: in this case deportation and the associated process are properly regarded as consequences of the offending rather than of the conviction because immigration decision-makers will consider the gravity of the offending and personal circumstances; the High Court correctly applied the s106/s107 proportionality test and was entitled to decline a discharge without conviction; the appeal is dismissed.
2 Sept 2022

R v MARFELL [2022] NZHC 2227

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2227
Court

High Court

Defendant was one of the leading figures in a large‑scale methamphetamine distribution network (Band 4) justifying an 11‑year starting point for methamphetamine offending, increased by 2.5 years for significant GBL involvement and package recovery conduct (overall 13.5 years), then reduced by combined mitigation (guilty plea, s27 factors, EM bail totaling six years) to produce an effective sentence of seven years imprisonment, with all counts to be served concurrently.
13 May 2022

R v KEYTE [2022] NZHC 1063

Citation

[2022] NZHC 1063
Court

High Court

Applying Zhang bands to the representative total identifiable quantity (10.6g) and recognising the defendant's lesser role and addiction, the Court set a global starting point of 2 years 2 months imprisonment, uplifted six months for participation in an organised criminal group (total 2 years 8 months), then applied discounts for guilty plea (20%), addiction (25%), rehabilitative efforts (15%) and restrictive bail (3%) and a modest uplift for prior convictions (2 months) to conclude a custodial sentence was unnecessary; the proper balance of denunciation, deterrence and rehabilitation was ach…
10 May 2022

R v BENNETT [2022] NZHC 1124

Citation

[2022] NZHC 1124
Court

High Court

Court fixed a starting point of four years' imprisonment based on the defendant's custodial role comparable to R v Dehar; applied a 10‑month (20%) discount for guilty pleas, a 7‑month (15%) reduction for exceptional personal background causally linked to offending, and a further 7‑month reduction for remorse and rehabilitative progress, reducing the sentence to two years; having regard to lack of direct physical involvement, remorse and rehabilitation, the court substituted 12 months home detention and imposed specified monitoring and curfew conditions.
25 Mar 2022

R v McQUADE [2022] NZHC 559

Citation

[2022] NZHC 559
Court

High Court

Applying Zhang band 3 for large-scale methamphetamine manufacture and finding the defendant's role significant, the judge set an adjusted starting point of 10 years (8 years for manufacture uplifted 2 years for related offending/totality), then applied offsets: 25% for guilty pleas, combined 25% for upbringing and addiction, and 5% for rehabilitation prospects, netting a 47.5% reduction and producing concurrent sentences with a final term of 5 years 3 months for the lead charges and an MPI of 25 months (40%) deemed necessary for denunciation, deterrence and community protection.
4 Mar 2022

SELAIMA FAKAOSILEA v R [2022] NZSC 17

Citation

[2022] NZSC 17
Court

Supreme Court

Leave to appeal on the conviction point is refused because the applicant's contention that importation was complete on arrival of the mother ship in territorial waters has no real prospect of success given precedent that importation continues until the goods are available to the intended consignee; on sentence the Court of Appeal properly applied Zhang v R and reduced the sentence, and no error is shown warranting leave; extension of time to apply for leave is granted.
16 Dec 2021

R v OHLSON [2021] NZHC 3499

Citation

[2021] NZHC 3499
Court

High Court

Apply Taueki principles to set a starting point of 10 years 6 months for the offending; apply a four month uplift for the defendant's significant prior violent convictions to reach 10 years 10 months; allow mitigation including a detailed s27 report, restorative justice engagement and remorse amounting to a two years eight months discount; impose concurrent terms on counts resulting in an effective term of six years imprisonment.
16 Dec 2021

R v TUCKER [2021] NZHC 3510

Citation

[2021] NZHC 3510
Court

High Court

A starting point of 3 years 2 months imprisonment was appropriate for Tucker's participation. After quantifying mitigation (youth discounted to six months, 2.5 months deduction for time subject to restrictive EM bail, and eight months for traumatic background and care deficits) total mitigation reduced the starting point by two years two months, producing a final sentence of 12 months imprisonment with likely immediate release and special release conditions for six months.