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R v Williams

R v Williams

Case [2021] NZHC 1368 10 June 2021

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND HAMILTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA KIRIKIRIROA ROHE

CRI-2020-419-22

[2021] NZHC 1368

THE QUEEN

v

ORREN SCOTT WILLIAMS

Hearing: 10 June 2021

Appearances:

J N Hamilton for the Crown

P J Morgan QC for the Defendant

Date of sentence:

10 June 2021

SENTENCING NOTES OF JAGOSE J

Counsel/Solicitors:
P J Morgan QC, Hamilton
Hamilton Legal, Crown Solicitor, Hamilton

R v WILLIAMS [2021] NZHC 1368 [10 June 2021]

[1] Mr Williams, on your guilty pleas, Downs J entered convictions against you in this Court on 3 November 2020 for:1
(a)possession of cannabis for supply;2

(b)offering to supply cannabis;3 and

(c)possession of methamphetamine.4

[2] I now am to sentence you for your convictions. In sentencing you, I must accept as proven all facts essential to your guilty pleas.5 The Crown recommends, as you’ve heard, that you be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to three years. Your counsel, Philip Morgan QC, recommends community detention. I am not bound by the lawyers’ views. I must come to my own decision. I must satisfy myself of the appropriate sentence for the gravity (or seriousness) of your offending, including your culpability (or responsibility) for it.

Background

[3] I briefly address the background to your offending, as outlined in the ultimate summary of facts dated yesterday and accepted by you, for which I thank you.

[4] On 6 June 2019, at the time of your arrest on, what we’ve heard is, unrelated matters, you had the crystal equivalent of 0.880 of a gram of methamphetamine in your possession. In searching your house, police then found suspended lines and plant material suggesting a drying room for harvested cannabis, “snap lock bags consistent with packaging for ounce quantities of cannabis”, and a hidden bag containing more than 270 grams of cannabis in your possession for sale.

1      R v Williams HC Hamilton CRI-2020-419-22, 3 November 2020 (Minute of Downs J) at [1].
2      Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, s 6(1)(f). Maximum penalty: eight years’ imprisonment.
3      Section 6(1)(e). Maximum penalty: eight years’ imprisonment.
4      Section 7(1)(a). Maximum penalty: six months’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.
5      Sentencing Act 2002, s 24(1)(b).

[5] Analysis of electronic messages associated with you established, during the four weeks or so from 5 May 2019 to your arrest on 6 June 2019, you sold or offered to sell cannabis to various people over the age of 18 years.

[6] The Crown suggests the evidence establishes you had a reliable and substantial source of cannabis for supply in large commercial amounts, and a close working relationship with a particular customer, to whom you offered to supply three pounds of cannabis at about $3,200 a pound, or ounces at $200–$300 each. To the contrary, Mr Morgan says the evidence only establishes you sold two ounces of cannabis, and were in possession of another ten ounces, while acting as middle-man in a prospective transaction to off-load another’s unsold cannabis. But he…

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 Williams

Details

AGLC: R v Williams [2021] NZHC 1368
Case: [2021] NZHC 1368
Decision Date: 10 June 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the High Court of New Zealand, Orren Scott Williams was sentenced for his convictions of possession of cannabis for supply, offering to supply cannabis, and possession of methamphetamine. The court had to decide the appropriate sentence for Williams' convictions, taking into account the seriousness of the offending, his culpability, and his personal circumstances. The court also had to consider the statutory purposes and principles of sentencing, including accountability, deterrence, denunciation, and rehabilitation.

The court found that Williams' offending was aggravated by the commerciality of the transactions, his role as a middleman, and his capacity to facilitate others' offending. The court set a starting point of two years and nine months' imprisonment, with a three-month uplift for the methamphetamine offence. The court allowed a 30% discount for Williams' guilty pleas and his personal factors, resulting in a sentence of eleven months and two weeks' home detention. The court found that home detention would meet all the applicable sentencing purposes in Williams' case, including denunciation, deterrence, and rehabilitation.

The final orders of the court were that Williams be sentenced to eleven months and two weeks' home detention on standard conditions at his Hauturu residence, with leave to attend his and his father-in-law's farms subject to approval by a probation officer.

Orders