[1] I am allowing Mr Nelson-Wright’s appeal against a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment imposed by Judge Adeane in the Napier District Court on 7 July 2015. Mr Nelson-Wright was sentenced after pleading guilty to one charge of assault with intent to injure.1

[2] I am quashing the sentence imposed by Judge Adeane and replacing it with a sentence of eight months’ imprisonment. I have changed the sentence imposed by Judge Adeane for two reasons:

(1) Judge Adeane adopted too high a starting point when sentencing

Mr Nelson-Wright.

(2)Judge Adeane failed to give appropriate weight to the fact Mr Nelson- Wright was aged 18 at the time of his sentence.

1 Crimes Act 1961, s 193. Maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.

NELSON-WRIGHT v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2015] NZHC 2302 [23 September 2015]

[3] As a consequence, Judge Adeane failed to impose the least restrictive sentence available in the circumstances as he was required to do by s 8(g) of the Sentencing Act 2002.

Background

[4] Mr Nelson-Wright and the complainant have been in a tumultuous relationship for about three years. On 19 April 2015 the complainant was at Mr Nelson-Wright’s address in Napier. Mr Nelson-Wright was at a party nearby where he was drinking alcohol. He asked the complainant several times to come and join him, but she declined.

[5] At about 1.00 am Mr Nelson-Wright returned home. He was severely intoxicated and began to argue with the complainant when she refused to go to the party with him. He became enraged and starting throwing items around in the lounge area. He continued to smash items in the lounge before heading back to the party.

[6] At 7.00 am Mr Nelson-Wright returned home again and fell asleep. The complainant checked on him and pulled the blanket off of his face. This woke him up and he attacked the complainant. He grabbed her by her chest area and threw her against the bedroom wall. When she tried to push him away, he grabbed her hair by her bun and slammed her head into the wall. When Mr Nelson-Wright released the complainant, she fell to the floor. He kicked her in the face twice and then kicked her to the left side of her body. He began throwing the complainant around and dragging her by the hair. She was kicking her legs to try and protect herself. Mr Nelson-Wright then jumped on top of the complainant and straddled her while he punched her around the head and face several times with closed fists. He also threw a beer can at her.

[7] The complainant ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Mr Nelson- Wright smashed a large hole in the door and eventually kicked…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Nelson-Wright v Police

Details

AGLC: Nelson-Wright v Police [2015] NZHC 2302
Case: [2015] NZHC 2302
Decision Date: 23 September 2015

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cordell Nelson-Wright was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment by Judge Adeane in the Napier District Court following a guilty plea to a charge of assault with intent to injure. The appeal against this sentence was heard and allowed by Collins J in the High Court of New Zealand. The key legal issues were whether the starting point for the sentence was too high and whether sufficient weight was given to Mr Nelson-Wright's age at the time of sentencing. Collins J found that the starting point of two years was too high given the circumstances, and that Judge Adeane failed to give appropriate weight to Mr Nelson-Wright's age as a mitigating factor. As a result, Collins J reduced the sentence to eight months' imprisonment.

Collins J began by noting that an appellate court should not substitute its own opinion for that of the sentencing judge unless the sentence is manifestly excessive or wrong in principle. The starting point for Mr Nelson-Wright's sentence was found to be too high, as it did not take into account mitigating factors such as his age and relatively limited prior offending history. Collins J also found that Judge Adeane failed to give appropriate weight to Mr Nelson-Wright's age as a mitigating factor, as required by section 8(g) of the Sentencing Act 2002. Collins J reduced the sentence to eight months' imprisonment, reflecting the mitigating factors and the need to impose the least restrictive sentence possible. The appeal was allowed and the sentence was reduced accordingly.

Orders