New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Assault on police

Legal area

Court

9 Jul 2021

BRAIDEN STEFAN MEADS-PETLEY v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2021] NZHC 1724

Citation

[2021] NZHC 1724
Court

High Court

The Court held the District Court's 18-month starting point for the assault was excessive and reduced it to 14 months; the uplift for the remaining offending was excessive and reduced from approximately 9–10 months to 6 months; the District Court's mitigation discounts were not disturbed (25% applied), resulting in a substituted global sentence of 15 months' imprisonment and preservation of leave to apply for substitution to a full-time residential rehabilitation programme.
3 Mar 2021

PUI v POLICE [2021] NZHC 352

Citation

[2021] NZHC 352
Court

High Court

The High Court held the Judge did not err: a three‑year starting point for the lead aggravated injury offending was not excessive given the offending involved a sustained attack on a police officer to facilitate flight and the offence carried a higher maximum penalty; treating the second assault as an aggravating factor/uplift was permissible; generous discounts yielded a 23‑month concurrent sentence which was not manifestly excessive, therefore the appeal is dismissed.
22 Jul 2020

NUKU v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 1767

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1767
Court

High Court

The High Court held the substituted sentence (four months' community detention and 80 hours' community work) was within the available sentencing range and not manifestly excessive; the District Court did not err in increasing the restrictiveness and hours to reflect deliberate non-compliance and to give proper deterrent and denunciatory effect, so the appeal was dismissed.
4 May 2020

DODDS v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 886

Citation

[2020] NZHC 886
Court

High Court

The Court concluded the District Court properly considered the appellant's mental health and personal circumstances, found that some personal responsibility remained despite mental illness, and determined that 100 hours' community work was within the legitimate sentencing range for the offending; any over-emphasis on general deterrence did not render the overall sentence manifestly excessive and the appeal was dismissed.
10 Dec 2019

THOMPSON v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 3241

Citation

[2019] NZHC 3241
Court

High Court

The High Court concluded the trial judge's factual findings were open on the evidence of the two constables and Mr Dixon, the appellant failed to demonstrate a miscarriage of justice or error in sentence, the arrest was not unlawful on the material, no relevant CCTV existed and any disclosure deficiency caused no prejudice; accordingly the appeals against conviction and sentence were dismissed.
23 Sept 2019

MOORE v POLICE [2019] NZHC 2408

Citation

[2019] NZHC 2408
Court

High Court

The High Court held the sentencing Judge erred by failing to consider home detention/electronically‑monitored sentence as the least restrictive appropriate outcome; six months' imprisonment for the lead drink‑driving offence was manifestly excessive in all the circumstances and was commuted to three months' home detention (less time already served), subject to conditions including no driving during home detention.
18 Mar 2019

ROWELL v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 471

Citation

[2019] NZHC 471
Court

High Court

The District Court's misstatements about maximum penalty and ammunition were not material; an 18 month starting point for unlawful possession of the pistol was within the appropriate range given comparable authorities and the serious nature of firearm offending; the two-month uplift for prior convictions was not outside the available range; home detention was not appropriate given the seriousness of the offence and the need for denunciation and deterrence, therefore the appeal is dismissed and the sentence stands.
4 Mar 2019

FREER v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 337

Citation

[2019] NZHC 337
Court

High Court

Starting point of six months imprisonment on the lead charges was outside the available range; appropriate starting point was about four months; having regard to the offender's rehabilitative needs, one month already served in custody, suitability of address for electronic monitoring and the availability of intensive supervision, the appropriate disposition was to quash the custodial sentence and impose four months community detention plus 18 months intensive supervision subject to conditions in the pre-sentence report.
12 Dec 2018

NATUA v R [2018] NZHC 3278

Citation

[2018] NZHC 3278
Court

High Court

The sentence was not manifestly excessive because the appellant committed multiple distinct and serious offences in a short period (supply of methamphetamine, possession of a loaded sawn-off rifle and ammunition, receipt of a stolen vehicle, and an in-court assault on police); the starting points for drug and firearms offending were supported by binding and persuasive authority, the assault aggravated the overall moral culpability requiring denunciation and deterrence, the totality principle did not render the cumulative sentence disproportionate, and parole considerations are not a proper se…
18 Oct 2018

MIHINUI v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZHC 2705

Citation

[2018] NZHC 2705
Court

High Court

The High Court held the Judge's starting points and uplifts were within the available range, the totality principle was properly applied, the aggravating factors (repeated strangulation, violence, offending while on bail and prior convictions) justified the uplifts, and the discounts applied for youth and guilty plea were appropriate; the overall sentence of three years nine months imprisonment was not manifestly excessive and the appeal was dismissed.