New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Parity between co-offenders

Legal area

Court

1 Jun 2023

SIMPSON & HOWE v R [2023] NZCA 202

Citation

[2023] NZCA 202
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed both appeals: the sentencing judges fell within the proper exercise of discretion applying Zhang and Berkland; Simpson's MPI was justified after weighing deterrence, denunciation and accountability against addiction and mental health and was reduced below what might otherwise have been imposed; discounts for mitigation and guilty pleas in both cases were within range and arithmetical complaints failed; Howe's starting point and firearm uplift were supportable given his role; a publication prohibition under s 202 CPA was required to protect the fair trial of the anonymised…
10 Feb 2023

HURA v R [2023] NZCA 7

Citation

[2023] NZCA 7
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held that the sentencing judges did not undertake the required fact-specific s86 analysis and instead applied the then-orthodox 50% MPI as routine; given the lengthy global sentences imposed, the standard one-third parole eligibility was sufficient to achieve the s86(2) sentencing purposes in each case and there was no evidence that the longer MPIs were required to protect the community; accordingly, despite substantial delay the strength of the appeals and the liberty interest justified granting extensions of time and setting aside the 50% MPIs.
14 Dec 2022

R v ILTON [2022] NZHC 3400

Citation

[2022] NZHC 3400
Court

High Court

The defendant's role encompassed logistical and operational functions that sat at the lower end of a 'significant' role and higher end of a 'lesser' role for band 5 offending (>2kg); applying Zhang as modified by Berkland, the correct starting point was nine and a half years, reduced by 20% for the guilty plea and a further 5% for personal mitigating factors to reach a sentence of seven years and one month imprisonment on the methamphetamine charge, with a concurrent two months on the computer search charge and conviction and discharge on the Health Act charge; no minimum period or uplift was…
26 Aug 2022

TRISTIAN JORDAN TAI v R [2022] NZCA 403

Citation

[2022] NZCA 403
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the District Court did not err: the appellant occupied a leading role in a mid-level commercial methamphetamine distribution operation justifying a 12-year notional starting point (part of a 16.5 years total before discounts); addiction and mental health did not sufficiently impair choice to reduce the starting point and were properly addressed through stage-two discounts; no gross or unjustifiable parity breach with the co-offender was shown, therefore the sentence of 10 years and four months was affirmed.
3 Dec 2021

ORMANDY v POLICE [2021] NZHC 3298

Citation

[2021] NZHC 3298
Court

High Court

The High Court upheld the District Court's approach: the starting point and parity assessment were available to the Judge given his familiarity with co-defendants' sentences and the facts; the two-month uplift for relevant prior convictions (including an escape conviction) was justified; and the discount for personal circumstances, taken together with guilty plea credit and totality adjustments, fell within the reasonable range. Consequently the nine‑month cumulative sentence was not manifestly excessive.
28 Sept 2021

SIMPSON v R [2021] NZHC 2560

Citation

[2021] NZHC 2560
Court

High Court

The sentencing judge erred by giving the appellant's act of firing the shot decisive priority without adequately weighing mitigating factors and the statutory requirement to impose the least restrictive appropriate sentence; the purposes of denunciation and deterrence could be met by home detention in the appellant's circumstances, and substitution with seven months' home detention was warranted to correct manifest excess and to preserve parity with the co-offender.
14 Jul 2021

TOLLEMACHE v R [2021] NZHC 1770

Citation

[2021] NZHC 1770
Court

High Court

The High Court found the District Court starting point of two years and ten months was within the appropriate range for nearly ten years of benefit fraud totaling about $187,762, but that the appellant's lack of prior convictions, demonstrable rehabilitative steps and family circumstances warranted an additional discount (up to 10%), producing an end sentence below 24 months. Because the adjusted sentence fell under 24 months, the proper and least restrictive disposition was home detention. The custodial sentence of two years three months was quashed and replaced with nine months' home detent…
19 Mar 2021

R v NAVARRO [2021] NZHC 593

Citation

[2021] NZHC 593
Court

High Court

Defendant's conduct involving 109.6 kg (80% purity) methamphetamine placed offending in Zhang band five; defendant classified as occupying a high‑end 'lesser' role; starting point set at 21 years' imprisonment; court applied cumulative personal discounts totalling 40% (5% youth/remorse, 5% foreign national, 5% cultural background, 25% early guilty plea) producing an end sentence of 12 years 7 months; court imposed a minimum period of imprisonment equal to 50% of the sentence; cash of $76,550 forfeited to the Crown.
17 Feb 2021

NAHORA v R [2021] NZHC 189

Citation

[2021] NZHC 189
Court

High Court

The High Court found the District Court starting point of six years was excessive given comparable authorities and parity with the co-offender; adopted a five year starting point, applied a 20% guilty plea discount and a 30% personal/cultural mitigation discount, then deducted six months for 12 months spent on EM bail, resulting in a substituted sentence of two years' imprisonment for aggravated burglary.
11 Nov 2020

SORENSEN v R [2020] NZHC 2982

Citation

[2020] NZHC 2982
Court

High Court

The High Court held the District Court erred by under‑crediting the appellant for personal mitigating factors: the appellant was entitled to, in addition to the 25% guilty plea discount, a 20% discount for cultural background and rehabilitation and a 5% discount for remorse; the appropriate end sentence is substituted to two years' imprisonment.