R v Vaituliao - [2007] NZCA 525

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND
CA272/07
CA344/07
CA347/07
[2007] NZCA 525
THE QUEEN
v
STEVE DAVID VAITULIAO
MARK TALIAULI
JOSEPH JUNIOR VAITULIAO
Hearing:7 November 2007

Court:Ellen France, John Hansen and Heath JJ
Counsel:J J Corby for Steve Vaituliao

A Speed for Mark Taliauli
G N Bradford for Joseph Vaituliao
K Raftery for Crown

Judgment:21 November 2007 at 4 pm

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

A Steve David Vaituliao’s appeal against conviction is dismissed.
B Mark Taliauli’s appeals against conviction and sentence are dismissed.
CJoseph Junior Vaituliao’s application for an extension of time to appeal is granted but his appeals against conviction and sentence are dismissed.

____________________________________________________________________
REASONS OF THE COURT
(Given by Heath J)
Table of Contents
Para No.

Introduction  [1]
Grounds of appeal  [5]
An outline of the facts  [12]
Steve Vaituliao’s appeal  [20]
Mark Taliauli’s conviction appeal  [27]
           Introductory comments  [27]
The evidence of involvement  [31]
           Identification issues  [45]
           Parties and withdrawal  [53]
Joseph Vaituliao’s conviction appeal  [63]
Some comments on other issues raised by the conviction appeals  [67]
Admissibility issues  [67]
           Criticisms of Crown counsel  [71]
           Crown case: Principals/parties  [73]
Mark Taliauli’s and Joseph Vaituliao’s sentence appeals  [75]
Conclusion  [91]

Introduction
[1]       Steve Vaituliao, Mark Taliauli and Joseph Vaituliao were each charged with one count of causing Michael Watene grievous bodily harm with intent to do so and one of wounding Manya Watene with intent to injure. The charges arose out of an incident that occurred in the early hours of 13 August 2005 in West Auckland. Mr Watene suffered one or more skull fractures as a result of the offending. Ms Watene (his sister) received lacerations to the back of her head and above her left eye.
[2]       The accused were (with Aeefua Junior Tapuni) tried in the District Court at Auckland in late February and early March 2007 before Judge Robinson and a jury. A fifth person, Ulufaa Asosa-Pauwaa, was also charged but he died in a motor vehicle accident before trial.
[3]       Mr Tapuni entered pleas of guilty to both charges during the course of the trial. The remaining accused were found guilty by the jury on both charges that each faced. On 5 June 2007 the four prisoners were sentenced. The effective sentences imposed were:
(a)       Steve Vaituliao - five years six months imprisonment;
(b)       Mark Taliauli – five years imprisonment;
(c)       Joseph Vaituliao – six years imprisonment; and
(d)      Aeefua Tapuni – five years imprisonment.

The sentence imposed upon Mark Taliauli was concurrent with sentences on unrelated charges on which he had previously been convicted. Those additional sentences are irrelevant for the purpose of his appeal.
[4]       Steve Vaituliao appeals against his conviction on both counts. Mark Taliauli appeals against his convictions and sentence. Joseph Vaituliao seeks an extension of time to appeal against his convictions and sentence.
Grounds of appeal
[5]       We take our summaries of the grounds of appeal and the Crown’s response from the helpful submissions of Mr Raftery, for the Crown.
[6]       The grounds of appeal…

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 R v Vaituliao

Details

AGLC: R v Vaituliao [2007] NZCA 525
Case: [2007] NZCA 525
Decision Date: 21 November 2007

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In R v Vaituliao, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand dismissed the appeals against conviction and sentence for Steve Vaituliao, Mark Taliauli, and Joseph Vaituliao. The appeals stemmed from a violent incident involving the assault of Michael and Manya Watene. Steve Vaituliao's appeal against conviction was dismissed, primarily due to his admission of guilt in a post-sentence letter, which undermined his trial defence that he was not present during the assault. The court found that the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that Steve Vaituliao was a party to the assault. Mark Taliauli's appeal against conviction focused on the adequacy of the identification evidence and the judge's direction to the jury on the law of parties and withdrawal. The court found that the identification evidence was not the sole basis of the conviction and that the judge adequately directed the jury on the relevant legal principles. Joseph Vaituliao's appeal against conviction was dismissed on similar grounds, and his application for an extension of time to appeal was granted. The appeals against the sentences of Mark Taliauli and Joseph Vaituliao were also dismissed, as the sentences were deemed appropriate in the context of the serious nature of the offence and the roles played by the appellants.

Orders