New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Possession of ammunition

Legal area

Court

28 Jul 2023

TANGI v R [2023] NZHC 1997

Citation

[2023] NZHC 1997
Court

High Court

Court found error in the District Court Judge's allowance for youth and related mitigating factors (they were not separately and adequately addressed) and that discounts must be applied to the adjusted starting point per Moses; recalculation produced a reduced sentence of 22 months (rounded) but the appellate Court nonetheless held imprisonment remained the least restrictive and imposed one year ten months' imprisonment while refusing leave to apply for home detention.
29 Nov 2022

R v BURR [Sentencing Notes] [2022] NZHC 3153

Citation

[2022] NZHC 3153
Court

High Court

Starting point for lead charge (loaded Remington) set at 18 months imprisonment, uplift of 2 months for the additional loaded Game King firearm to a 20 month global starting point; full 25% guilty plea discount (6 months) reduced the notional sentence to 14 months; court exercised statutory preference for least restrictive sanction and converted the custodial sentence to a non-custodial outcome: 400 hours community work and six months community detention served concurrently; forfeiture of firearms and ammunition ordered.
19 Sept 2022

SHEED v R [2022] NZCA 440

Citation

[2022] NZCA 440
Court

Court of Appeal

Given the appellant's role as a patched gang member performing guard duty, the presence of a loaded firearm with a substantial quantity of ammunition readily available, and the jury's rejection of the lack-of-knowledge defence, a starting point of two years six months was available; the s 27 report did not materially reduce moral culpability; there was no manifestly excessive end sentence or sentencing process error, therefore the two years three months sentence stands and the appeal is dismissed.
13 May 2022

WARD v POLICE [2022] NZHC 1051

Citation

[2022] NZHC 1051
Court

High Court

The High Court found the District Court's 42-month starting point excessive and preferred a 36-month starting point with a 3-month uplift for recent prior firearms offending, but held that the District Court's final sentence of 27 months fell within permissible judicial discretion and was not manifestly excessive, so the appeal was dismissed.
14 Sept 2021

PFEIFFER v R [2021] NZHC 2409

Citation

[2021] NZHC 2409
Court

High Court

The High Court held the District Court's 20 month starting point for possession of the sawn-off shotgun and ammunition was within range and that an adjusted overall starting point of 26 months (before plea reduction) was available given the firearm, ammunition and related offending; the 20% guilty plea reduction was appropriate and home detention was not suitable because deterrence and denunciation and the defendant's history and circumstances required imprisonment; appeal dismissed.
27 May 2021

R v WALKER-HATURINI [2021] NZHC 1208

Citation

[2021] NZHC 1208
Court

High Court

Starting point for unlawful possession of ammunition set at seven months' imprisonment, uplifted one month for other July offending and one month for August offending and for offending while on bail leading to a nominal ten months; however restrictive pre-conviction EM bail and extensive community-based restrictions were credited as having served the punitive element, rendering imprisonment manifestly excessive; defendant sentenced to six months' supervision and a related methamphetamine possession charge dismissed under s147 Criminal Procedure Act 2011.
15 Jul 2020

RIDDLE v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 1706

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1706
Court

High Court

The Court held the original cumulative starting points and uplift produced a manifestly excessive sentence; it reduced cumulative starting points, upheld a constrained uplift as justified by recent release and risk to public safety, quashed and substituted the sentences for the breach of release conditions to concurrent terms of seven and a half months and fixed the final aggregate sentence at ten months and two weeks.
5 Nov 2018

VAN WYK v POLICE [2018] NZHC 2853

Citation

[2018] NZHC 2853
Court

High Court

The High Court found no material error in the District Court's reasoning: the starting point for low-end burglary and the cumulative uplift for distinct offending were within range, the District Court appropriately weighed mitigation including addiction and guilty plea, and the nine month home detention (with concurrent three month terms on other charges and rehabilitative conditions) was not manifestly excessive; appeal dismissed.
6 Nov 2017

KNUCKEY v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2017] NZHC 2712

Citation

[2017] NZHC 2712
Court

High Court

The judge's factual findings that the complainant was credible and that her accounts were corroborated by peripheral evidence (contemporaneous texts evidencing threats and propensity, discovery of ammunition, recovery of a baton, and consistent detailed recollections) were open on the evidence; methamphetamine use did not fatally undermine the police statement used to refresh memory; the fresh affidavit was neither unavailable at trial nor cogent; consequently there was no real risk the verdict was affected and the convictions and sentence should stand.
29 Sept 2017

MCCAUSLAND v R [2017] NZHC 2380

Citation

[2017] NZHC 2380
Court

High Court

The High Court held the 20-month starting point for attempting to pervert the course of justice was excessive and a 15-month starting point was the maximum available; after full guilty plea credit and adjustments for EM bail and limited mitigation the sentence for attempting to pervert was reduced to 11 months and the receiving charge reduced to 8 months cumulative, resulting in an effective substituted sentence of 19 months imprisonment. Home detention was not appropriate given the seriousness, premeditation and the appellant’s record.