Richmond v The Queen

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

CA110/2015
[2015] NZCA 125

BETWEEN	HARLEY TRIDENT RICHMOND Appellant
AND	THE QUEEN Respondent

Counsel:

Appellant in Person
G A Kelly for Respondent

Judgment:

(On the papers)

21 April 2015 at 9:30 am

JUDGMENT OF RANDERSON J

The application for bail is dismissed.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS

The appellant pleaded guilty in the District Court to one count of rape. He was subsequently sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment.[1] He now appeals solely against his conviction and seeks bail pending appeal under s 55 of the Bail Act 2000. The application is opposed by the Crown. I have considered the application under s 393(2)(d) of the Crimes Act 1961.
[1]R v Richmond DC Hamilton CRI-2013-019-1815, 17 November 2014.
The grounds for the bail application are that the appellant has a number of children one of whom is unwell and requires weekly admission to Waikato Hospital. The appellant also refers to difficulties for his family who are being cared for by the appellant’s partner and mother of the children.
Section 14 of the Bail Act creates a presumption against the granting of bail pending appeal.[2] The onus is on the appellant to demonstrate that on the balance of probabilities it is in the interests of justice that bail be granted.[3] Bail pending appeal is unusual and only to be granted in exceptional circumstances.[4]
[2]Bail Act 2000, s 14(1).
[3]Bail Act 2000, s 14(2).
[4]Ellis v R [1998] 3 NZLR 555 (CA) at 560 and Iti v R [2012] NZCA 307 at [7].
Section 14(3) of the Bail Act sets out a range of considerations affecting applications for bail pending appeal. I am not satisfied that the appellant has demonstrated that it is in the interests of justice that bail be granted. The grounds of appeal do not appear to be strong given the appellant’s plea of guilty and the fact that he was represented by legal counsel at the time the plea was entered; the sentence is relatively lengthy and a hearing date within the next two to three months is likely; while sympathetic to the appellant’s family circumstances, they are little different from those of the families of many offenders in similar positions.
Accordingly, the application for bail pending appeal is dismissed.

Solicitors:
Crown Law Office, Wellington for Respondent

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Harley Trident Richmond appealed against his conviction and sentence for rape, seeking bail pending the outcome of the appeal. Richmond had previously pleaded guilty to one count of rape and was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment. The appeal focused solely on the conviction, with Richmond arguing that bail should be granted to him pending the appeal, as he had a number of children, one of whom required regular medical treatment. The Crown opposed the bail application.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the appellant had met the threshold for being granted bail pending appeal under the Bail Act 2000. Section 14(1) of the Bail Act creates a presumption against granting bail pending appeal, and the onus was on Richmond to demonstrate that it was in the interests of justice for him to be granted bail. The court considered the relevant factors set out in section 14(3) of the Bail Act and determined whether the appellant had demonstrated that the criteria for bail were met.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Richmond's application for bail pending appeal. The Court held that the grounds for the appeal did not appear to be strong, particularly given Richmond's guilty plea and the fact that he had legal representation when the plea was entered. The Court also considered the length of the sentence and the likelihood of the appeal being heard within the next two to three months. While the Court acknowledged Richmond's family circumstances, they were not considered exceptional enough to warrant the granting of bail. The Court found that Richmond had not demonstrated that it was in the interests of justice for him to be granted bail pending appeal.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Richmond's application for bail pending appeal.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established