New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Conspiracy to import methamphetamine

Legal area

Court

9 Dec 2022

R v HUANG [2022] NZHC 3323

Citation

[2022] NZHC 3323
Court

High Court

The court set the lead offence as the two conspiracies and fixed a starting point of eight years because the conspiracies involved agreement and significant quantity but no overt steps; applied uplifts (two years for overall drug offending, six months for firearms, six months for money laundering) to reach a global starting point of 11 years; applied discounts (22.5% for good character, 10% for rehabilitation), a 15% guilty plea credit applied to the notional starting point for pleaded charges (eight months), and a six month EM bail credit, yielding a final sentence of six years three months'…
13 Apr 2016

BANABA v R [2016] NZCA 122

Citation

[2016] NZCA 122
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the sentencing Judge erred in relying on disputed facts without following s 24 but that the admitted quantities in Counts 1 and 2 (6.75 kg) justified a band four starting point; after proper assessment the provisional sentencing structure and discounts produced an upheld end sentence of 13 years with an MPI of five years seven months, but the concurrent six year cannabis sentence was manifestly excessive and is quashed and replaced with a concurrent four year term.
22 Feb 2016

WYATT v POLICE [2016] NZHC 231

Citation

[2016] NZHC 231
Court

High Court

Leave to file the appeal out of time was granted because the interests of justice warranted consideration; on the merits the starting point for the appellant was not in error given his greater culpability, relevant prior convictions and significant aggravating features (possession of firearms and manufacturing equipment), so the sentence was not manifestly excessive and the appeal was dismissed.

New Zealand Case Law

R v HUANG [2022] NZHC 3323

BANABA v R [2016] NZCA 122

WYATT v POLICE [2016] NZHC 231