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R v Whaanga

R v Whaanga

Case [2020] NZHC 1318 8 June 2020

Criminal Liability

Sentencing

Mens Rea & Intention

Aggravated & Exemplary Damages

Victim Impact

Remorse

Criminal Law

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ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF NAME, ADDRESS,

OCCUPATION OR IDENTIFYING PARTICULARS OF VICTIM PURSUANT TO S 202 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2011. SEE

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA ROHE

CRI-2019-096-4156

[2020] NZHC 1318

THE QUEEN

v

TANIRAU WHAANGA

Appearances:
G Burston for the Crown

C J Nicholls for Mr Whaanga

Sentencing:

8 June 2020

SENTENCING REMARKS OF GRICE J

Overview

[1] Mr Whaanga you have pleaded guilty to one charge of manslaughter by causing death by an unlawful act.¹ I am now going to sentence you on that charge.

[2] This will be transcribed as I go and you will receive a copy of the sentencing notes which will be edited but otherwise substantially the same.

1 Crimes Act 1961, ss 160(2)(a), 171 and 177. Category 4 offence carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. These sentencing remarks were delivered orally on 8 June 2020. The written form has been edited and footnoted before distribution.

R v WHAANGA [2020] NZHC 1318 [8 June 2020]

[3] Importantly before I go any further I acknowledge the presence at this hearing of the victim’s family including his wife, his son, daughter and son-in-law and his sister and his mother. I refer to the victim as I go through the sentencing notes and that is out of deference to the privacy of the family and respect for their significant loss. I grant a final order of name suppression of the victim’s name.

[4] Mr Whaanga you accepted your guilt on the charge and the facts as outlined. I also viewed the CCTV footage this morning. You have been issued with a first strike warning under s 86B of Sentencing Act 2002 on 3 February 2020. That underscores the very serious nature of the charge that you have pleaded guilty to and the fact that a person’s life was lost through this offending.

[5] The law requires me to consider a number of factors before I determine a final sentence. I first consider what happened that day in the carpark, and the facts and the charges that were laid based on those facts.

[6] I look at the surrounding circumstances and consider whether those circumstances add to or aggravate the offending or diminish or mitigate the seriousness of the offending. This allows me to fix this offending and the sentence compared to other cases. But no case is ever the same. On the basis of those considerations I then fix a sentence starting point. I then go on to consider matters that are personal to you Mr Whaanga. I have heard a great deal of those matters from your counsel, Mr Nicholls, this morning. These matters are put forward to mitigate the sentence or lessen it and sometimes personal factors will aggravate the sentence. I take those into account to reach a final sentence.

[7] And as you know I have received submissions both in writing and orally from Mr Burston for the Crown…

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 Whaanga

Details

AGLC: R v Whaanga [2020] NZHC 1318
Case: [2020] NZHC 1318
Decision Date: 8 June 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the High Court of New Zealand, Grice J sentenced Tanirau Whaanga on a charge of manslaughter by causing death by an unlawful act. The court had to decide on the appropriate sentence for Whaanga, considering various legal principles and factors. The court acknowledged the victim's family present during the sentencing hearing and granted a final order of name suppression for the victim.

The court considered the purposes and principles of sentencing, the starting point for the sentence, and various personal factors relating to Whaanga. The court found that the attack was unprovoked and highlighted the seriousness of the offending. The court compared the case to similar cases and found that the starting point for this case was five and a half years' imprisonment. The court then considered personal factors, including Whaanga's age, prospects for rehabilitation, personal criminal history, remorse, cultural factors, and the guilty plea. After applying the relevant discounts, the court sentenced Whaanga to three years and three months' imprisonment.

The court made an order for the final permanent name suppression of the victim.

Orders