New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Driving while suspended/disqualified

Legal area

Court

4 Aug 2021

LAIRD v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2021] NZHC 2005

Citation

[2021] NZHC 2005
Court

High Court

The High Court concluded the District Court judge gave disproportionate weight to historic driving offences; on fresh consideration of the s 94(1)(b) factors the appellant's reduced offending over the past decade, employment and rehabilitative steps outweighed public safety concerns such that disqualification was inappropriate; accordingly the one-year disqualification was quashed and substituted with an additional 70 hours of community work (total 190 hours including impaired drivers' course).
12 May 2020

KELLY v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 972

Citation

[2020] NZHC 972
Court

High Court

Radio transmissions were not material to the factual basis of the attempting to defeat the course of justice charge (the charge was failing to stop when signalled); therefore the Judge erred in treating those transmissions as relevant to the lead charge. The offending is more analogous to avoiding apprehension than to perverting the administration of justice; a nine-month starting point for the lead offence, with appropriate uplifts and discounts (three-month uplift for driving charges, three-month uplift for breach of release conditions, three-month uplift for prior convictions; two-month mi…
14 Jun 2018

CANDLER v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZHC 1414

Citation

[2018] NZHC 1414
Court

High Court

The High Court held the overall 12 month imprisonment end sentence was not manifestly excessive. The court recalculated appropriate starting points (nine months for the driving offences uplifted one month because the second driving offence occurred on bail, plus cumulative three months each for the two low-level offending charges to a total starting point of 16 months), then allowed a full 25% discount for early guilty pleas, resulting in a 12 month sentence. The court found the District Court judge erred by not granting the guilty plea discount on the second driving charge but that the ultim…
23 Apr 2018

HOWIESON v R [2018] NZHC 772

Citation

[2018] NZHC 772
Court

High Court

The appeal is dismissed because the sentence imposed was within the available range and did not disclose error: all three co‑defendants had the same aggravated robbery starting point, the uplift for unlawful taking against the appellant was justified by the more serious statutory charge (maximum seven years) versus the lesser offence faced by co‑defendants (maximum two years), the appellant was a full participant (stole the car, participated in planning and knew a gun would be used) and therefore equally culpable as co‑defendants, and the differences in final terms (two–three months) did not…
8 Dec 2017

CADLE v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2017] NZHC 3042

Citation

[2017] NZHC 3042
Court

High Court

The Court held the 16 month sentence and 15 month driving disqualification were not manifestly excessive because the district judge's starting points and uplifts for repeat driving while suspended, drug possession, dangerous driving and possession of a machete were justifiable, totality was addressed by a reduction, and appropriate guilty plea and mitigation discounts were applied; appeal dismissed.

New Zealand Case Law

LAIRD v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2021] NZHC 2005

KELLY v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 972

CANDLER v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZHC 1414

HOWIESON v R [2018] NZHC 772

CADLE v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2017] NZHC 3042