New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Role and culpability

Legal area

Court

8 May 2020

WIRIHANA v R [2020] NZCA 151

Citation

[2020] NZCA 151
Court

Court of Appeal

Because the appellant played a limited, non‑profit role in a larger supply network and demonstrably maintained employment, avoided drug use and undertook rehabilitative steps while on bail, Zhang permits substantial mitigation of the quantity‑driven starting point; applying the Sentencing Act purposes (particularly rehabilitation) and s6(4) proviso, a 50% discount was justified and prison would be disproportionately severe, therefore substitution of 12 months' home detention is the appropriate sentence.
30 Apr 2020

STEVEN RICHARD PAUL WHITEFORD v R [2020] NZCA 130

Citation

[2020] NZCA 130
Court

Court of Appeal

The methamphetamine offending (approximately 53g) falls within band 2 and the appellant's role was towards the significant end of the spectrum making a five-year starting point appropriate; addiction was not a separate mitigating factor on the evidence, but the appellant's chronic colitis meant imprisonment would be disproportionately severe and warranted a discrete 10% discount on the starting point and uplifts, resulting in reduction of the sentence to four years five months' imprisonment.