JOHN OLIVER JAMIESON DANIEL RAYMOND KREEGHER SIMON ANTONY ANGLEM
CA138/2009 CA139/2009 CA140/2009
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
v
NICHOLAS JOHN PETERS MORGAN CHRISTOPHER JAMES PARKER ASHLEY JORDAN MOFFAT
Hearing:6 October 2009
Court:William Young P, Panckhurst and MacKenzie JJ
Counsel:S A Saunderson-Warner for Mr Jamieson
A J Logan for Mr Kreegher J A Westgate for Mr Anglem J H M Eaton for Mr Peters W N P van Vuuren for Mr Parker P H B Hall and K H Cook for Mr Moffat K A L Bicknell and A R McRae for Crown
Judgment:25 November 2009 at 11 am
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
AThe appeals against sentence (CA92/2009, CA94/2009 and CA106/2009) are allowed in part. The following orders are made:
(i)Mr Jamieson’s sentence of nine years’ imprisonment and four years six months’ minimum period of imprisonment is quashed. A sentence of eight years’ imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of four years is substituted.
(ii)Mr Kreegher’s sentence of eight years’ imprisonment and four years’ minimum period of imprisonment is quashed. A sentence of seven years eight months’ imprisonment is substituted..
(iii)Mr Anglem’s sentence of seven years six months’ imprisonment and three years nine months’ minimum period of imprisonment is quashed. A sentence of seven years five months’ imprisonment is substituted.
BLeave for the Solicitor-General to appeal (CA138/2009, CA139/2009 and CA140/2009) is granted and the appeal is allowed. Mr Peters, Mr Parker and Mr Moffat’s sentences of four years six months’ imprisonment are quashed. Sentences of five years three months’ imprisonment are substituted.
[1] Following a trial the appellants/respondents were found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. In a group attack they had caused the death of the victim by a combination of punching, kicking and stomping.
[2] The trial Judge, Cooper J, sentenced the offenders on 12 February 2009. The Judge considered that the prisoners fell into two groups, being three principal offenders (John Jamieson, Daniel Kreegher and Simon Anglem) and three secondary offenders (Nicholas Peters, Morgan Parker and Ashley Moffat). In broad terms the division reflected a finding that the principals were involved in kicking and stomping the victim at the final and fatal stages of the attack. By contrast, the secondary offenders were present and offering encouragement, but not necessarily involved in the final acts of violence.
[3] The three principals were sentenced from a common starting-point of nine years’ imprisonment. The end sentences were nine years for Mr Jamieson, eight years for Mr Kreegher, and seven and a half years for Mr Anglem. Each was also ordered to serve a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 50 per cent of the end sentence.
[4] The secondary offenders were each sentenced from a starting-point of six years to an end term of four and a half years, with no minimum period of imprisonment.
[5] The principal offenders challenge their sentences on various grounds,…
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.
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Details
AGLC
R v Jamieson [2009] NZCA 555
Case
[2009] NZCA 555
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The case of R v Jamieson involved an appeal against the sentences imposed on six offenders who had participated in a group attack that resulted in the death of Wayne Bray. The principal offenders, John Jamieson, Daniel Kreegher, and Simon Anglem, were sentenced to nine years, eight years, and seven and a half years in prison respectively, while the secondary offenders, Nicholas Peters, Morgan Parker, and Ashley Moffat, were sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment each. The Court of Appeal of New Zealand considered various grounds of appeal, including the appropriateness of the starting-points, the allowance made for the offers to plead guilty, and the imposition of minimum periods of imprisonment (MPI). The Court concluded that the disparity between the sentences of the principal and secondary offenders was too great, and adjustments were made to the sentences accordingly. The appeal against sentence was allowed in part, and the sentences of the principal and secondary offenders were substituted with new terms of imprisonment.