New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Solicitor-general appeal

Legal area

Court

27 Jun 2023

RHYS McCASLIN-WHITEHEAD v R [2023] NZCA 259

Citation

[2023] NZCA 259
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the District Court's home detention sentence was manifestly inadequate in principle (a custodial sentence was required) but, applying conservative Crown-appeal principles and assessing injustice from substituting imprisonment after the offender had served and complied with home detention conditions and engaged in rehabilitation, the appropriate appellate response was to maintain a non-custodial outcome; accordingly leave was granted, the High Court's custodial sentence was quashed and substituted with a two month two day period of home detention on the original District Court c…
10 Apr 2019

R v COSSEY [2019] NZCA 104

Citation

[2019] NZCA 104
Court

Court of Appeal

Although the Court considered the appropriate starting point should have been higher (at least five years) and that home detention would not have been available had the correct starting point and discounts been applied, it declined to substitute a custodial sentence because the respondent had almost completed the substantial non‑custodial sentence, had complied with conditions and shown rehabilitation progress; accordingly the Solicitor‑General's appeal was dismissed and the original sentence was not replaced by imprisonment.
19 Dec 2018

R v KASMEER LATA [2018] NZCA 615

Citation

[2018] NZCA 615
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the totality of aggravating factors placed the offending within the category of the most serious of cases under s 8(c) of the Sentencing Act 2002, requiring application of the maximum prescribed penalty for the lead s 98(1)(i) offence before applying offender‑related discounts; after allowing the agreed discounts the lead sentence was substituted with ten years and three months' imprisonment and a five year minimum period, with concurrent s 98AA sentences adjusted accordingly.
24 Nov 2017

VAEAFISI V R [2017] NZCA 545

Citation

[2017] NZCA 545
Court

Court of Appeal

The appeal is dismissed. The sentencing judge applied an appropriate starting point and permissible discounts; the disparity with the co‑offender's sentence is explained by the co‑offender's earlier guilty plea and the fact her sentence resulted from a Solicitor‑General appeal, and does not warrant further reduction for parity.
19 Jul 2006

SIPA AND ANOR V R SC 4/2006

Citation

SC 4/2006
Court

Supreme Court

The appeals are dismissed after the appellants elected not to proceed; and the Court established that where the Solicitor‑General appeals a sentence given after a sentence indication, courts should obtain respondent affidavits attesting reliance and willingness to vacate pleas if sentence is increased, and any increased sentence on a successful appeal must be no more than minimally necessary to remove manifest inadequacy.
28 Mar 2006

SIPA AND ANOR V R SC 4/2006

Citation

SIPA AND ANOR V R SC 4/2006
Court

Supreme Court

Leave to appeal was granted to determine whether the Court of Appeal erred by not expressly offering the appellants an opportunity to appeal their convictions before allowing the Solicitor-General's appeals, and whether the convictions should be set aside and the matters remitted to the District Court for reconsideration of pleas.

New Zealand Case Law

RHYS McCASLIN-WHITEHEAD v R [2023] NZCA 259

R v COSSEY [2019] NZCA 104

R v KASMEER LATA [2018] NZCA 615

VAEAFISI V R [2017] NZCA 545

SIPA AND ANOR V R SC 4/2006

SIPA AND ANOR V R SC 4/2006