Szucs v The Queen - [2012] NZCA 424

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

CA130/2012

[2012] NZCA 424

BETWEEN MARK TONY SZUCS
Appellant

AND THE QUEEN
Respondent

Hearing: 22 August 2012

Court: Harrison, Courtney and Andrews JJ

Appearances: H D M Lawry for Appellant
M D Downs for Respondent

Judgment: 17 September 2012 at 10.30 am

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appeal against conviction and sentence is dismissed.
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REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Courtney J)

Introduction

Following a jury trial in the District Court at Papakura in November 2011 before Judge McAuslan the appellant, Mark Tony Szucs, was found guilty[1] of manufacturing methamphetamine and having in his possession materials and equipment capable of being used for manufacturing methamphetamine. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment on the manufacturing charges and 18 months imprisonment concurrently on the possession charges.[2] He now appeals both his conviction and sentence.
[1] Along with his brother John Michael Szucs.
[2] R v Szucs DC Papakura CRI-2009-092-14144, 28 February 2012.
The appeal against conviction is brought on the ground that the verdict was unreasonable because, having regard to all of the evidence, the jury could not reasonably have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt as to his guilt. The appeal against his sentence is brought on the ground that it is manifestly excessive as a result of the Judge adopting too high a starting point and imposing too great an uplift to reflect the totality of the offending.

Appeal against conviction

In August 2009 Mr Szucs was living in a rental property in Bucklands Beach which he had occupied for several years. His brother, John Szucs, and two others had moved into the property in early August. On 27 August 2009 the Police executed a search warrant at the property and found a number of items which suggested that Mr Szucs had manufactured methamphetamine at the property.
In Mr Szucs’s bedroom (which was temporarily occupied by his sister) the Police found a document entitled “Secrets of manufacturing methamphetamine” which was badly stained and bore Mr Szucs’s fingerprints. They also found electronic scales and snap-lock bags, both bearing traces of methamphetamine.
In the kitchen methamphetamine was detected in swabs taken from the extractor fan in the kitchen. Methamphetamine was also detected on swabs taken between the kitchen and hallway and on a sliding door leading to the bedroom. A set of electronic scales bearing traces of methamphetamine was also found in the kitchen.
In the laundry there were toluene, acetone, methylated spirits and a variety of bakeware. One of these items held two-layered liquids later found to contain pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine. Swabs taken from a wall and the ceiling in the laundry contained pseudoephedrine.
The sleepout that Mr Szucs used as workshop for his jewellery business contained toluene and three vessels containing two-layered liquids. Two of these held toluene and methamphetamine and a third held toluene, pseudoephedrine and hydrochloric acid.
In other parts of the house there were items implicating the other occupants which were not directly linked to Mr Szucs.
Mr…

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 Szucs v The Queen

Details

AGLC: Szucs v The Queen [2012] NZCA 424
Case: [2012] NZCA 424
Decision Date: 17 September 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Mark Tony Szucs was found guilty by a jury of manufacturing methamphetamine and possessing materials and equipment capable of being used for manufacturing methamphetamine. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment on the manufacturing charges and 18 months imprisonment concurrently on the possession charges. He appealed against both his conviction and sentence. The appeal against the conviction was brought on the ground that the verdict was unreasonable because, having regard to all the evidence, the jury could not reasonably have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt as to his guilt. The appeal against his sentence was brought on the ground that it was manifestly excessive as a result of the Judge adopting too high a starting point and imposing too great an uplift to reflect the totality of the offending.

The Court found that the jury could reasonably have concluded, on the totality of the evidence, that Mr Szucs had been involved in manufacturing methamphetamine in the house. The Court found that the document containing instructions for making methamphetamine found in Mr Szucs’s bedroom and bearing his fingerprints was a strong piece of circumstantial evidence. The Court found that Mr Szucs’s explanation for having the document and chemicals was implausible and the jury was entitled to reject it. The appeal against conviction was dismissed.

The Court found that it was open to the Judge on the evidence to find an element of commerciality and there is no basis on which to interfere with her Honour’s finding on this aspect. The Court found that the end sentence was not manifestly excessive. The appeal against sentence was dismissed.

The appeal against conviction and sentence is dismissed.

Orders