New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Reckless driving causing injury

Legal area

Court

4 Dec 2023

R v BOYCE [2023] NZHC 3508

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3508
Court

High Court

Adopted an 8.5 year starting point for manslaughter and a 6 year starting point for drug, firearm and related offending yielding a nominal cumulative 14.5 years; applied totality adjustment to adopt an overall starting point of 12.5 years; granted a 25% guilty plea discount, 5% remorse credit and 10% credit for addiction and rehabilitation (total mitigation 40%), and one month reduction for time on restrictive EM bail, resulting in an end sentence of 7 years 4 months imprisonment on the lead manslaughter charge with concurrent sentences on other charges, a four year driving disqualification,…
1 Dec 2023

R v TE POU [2023] NZHC 3483

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3483
Court

High Court

Given multiple aggravating features (consumption of alcohol and drugs, extreme and prolonged excessive speed in a busy central area, refusal to heed passenger warnings, deliberate dangerous driving including running a red light and evading police, unlicensed driving with eight passengers including occupants in the boot, and causing one death and multiple serious injuries) a starting point of nine years six months' imprisonment was appropriate; that starting point was reduced by 11 months (approx. 10%) for youth and personal background, six months (approx. 5%) for genuine remorse, and 29 month…
6 Oct 2021

TOHU v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2021] NZHC 2660

Citation

[2021] NZHC 2660
Court

High Court

Applying the Moses two-step approach the Court held the District Court's outcome was within range: a 30-month starting point for the May 2021 reckless driving, uplifted by six months for the hospital assault and prior family violence to 36 months, less a 25% guilty plea discount to 27 months for the May charges, combined cumulatively with earlier January offending to produce a total effective end sentence of two years and nine months (33 months); the appeal against sentence was dismissed as not manifestly excessive.
30 Sept 2020

TITO-FURZE v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 2555

Citation

[2020] NZHC 2555
Court

High Court

The High Court held the District Court erred by insufficiently discounting the sentence for genuine remorse and systemic cultural deprivation causatively linked to the offending; applied a 25% discount for early guilty plea and a 15% discount for remorse and systemic deprivation (total greater mitigation), quashed the original sentence and substituted a reduced term of imprisonment.
13 Mar 2020

HAZEL v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 609

Citation

[2020] NZHC 609
Court

High Court

The Judge's starting point for reckless driving (24 months) was within range given extreme speeding, evasion of police, serious injuries and property damage; although the domestic violence guilty plea discounts were not explicitly articulated the six‑month uplift for those offences was within range once discounts were allowed for; totality was sufficiently respected given the aggregate offending and cancellation of prior community work, therefore the 29‑month sentence and two‑year driving disqualification were not manifestly excessive and the appeal is dismissed.
4 Nov 2019

TAMEHANA v R [2019] NZHC 2850

Citation

[2019] NZHC 2850
Court

High Court

The appeal is dismissed because the sentencing Judge did not err in concluding that, given the prolonged and extreme speeding, alcohol involvement, prior driving convictions and the very serious and lasting injuries caused, a term of imprisonment was the only appropriate available sentence rather than home detention.
15 Oct 2019

R v KANE [2019] NZHC 2622

Citation

[2019] NZHC 2622
Court

High Court

Adopted a starting point of 7 years 6 months for manslaughter, uplifted by 4 months for prior driving convictions; allowed a 20% combined discount for youth and genuine remorse and a 25% discount for a prompt guilty plea, producing an end sentence of 4 years 8 months imprisonment for manslaughter; imposed a minimum period of imprisonment equal to one half of the sentence (2 years 4 months); sentenced each reckless driving causing injury count to 2 years' imprisonment to be served concurrently; disqualified defendant from driving for six years.
13 Jul 2018

R v HOLDEM [2018] NZHC 1739

Citation

[2018] NZHC 1739
Court

High Court

The offending warranted a six year starting point given multiple aggravating features (combined drug and alcohol use while driving, excessive speed in poor conditions, repeated passenger warnings ignored, prolonged dangerous driving, breach of restricted licence, prior motoring offending and serious injuries to two passengers). After allowing six months' reduction for genuine remorse, willingness to address substance dependence and the defendant's mental health issues, the appropriate global sentence is five years and six months' imprisonment, with the two two-year sentences for reckless driv…
4 May 2018

R v LYON [2018] NZHC 952

Citation

[2018] NZHC 952
Court

High Court

On balance of witness evidence, admissions, vehicle inspection and expert analysis, the Court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lyon intentionally allowed the vehicle to lose traction, including fishtailing prior to the bend; the disputed fact was proved and the sentence indication starting point remains unchanged.
1 Jun 2017

RICHARDS v R [2017] NZCA 232

Citation

[2017] NZCA 232
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeal: although the THC finding should not have been treated as an aggravating factor given uncertainty about intoxication, the aggregate of other aggravating features (ignored passenger warnings, prolonged deliberate reckless driving including wrong-way driving and failure to give way, overloading, breach of licence, prior driving history, injuries and theft to avoid detection) justified a high culpability starting point of five years; after applying discounts for youth and guilty pleas the imposed sentence of three years and three months was within the available ran…