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1. Auckland Standards Committees 2 and 3 v Mason [2019] NZLCDT 5 [pdf, 89 KB]

   ...March 2019 COUNSEL Mr R McCoubrey and Ms E Mok for the Standards Committees Mr A Jackson for the Practitioner 2 RESERVED DECISION PROVIDING REASONS FOR ORDERS MADE ON 19 FEBRUARY 2019 Introduction [1] Mr Mason has pleaded guilty to two charges of misconduct. One of these relates to his acting in a situation where there was a clear conflict of interest and duty. [2] The second charge relates to Mr Mason’s non-compliance with previous cost and compe...

2. AF v Secretary for Justice 16 May 2012 NZRA 000007 [pdf, 121 KB]

   ...over function. That ‘people skills’ are more important than ‘law skills’ particularly in criminal and family law matters. Arising out of that he asserts that his involvement in indictable sentencing matters which involved early guilty pleas should benefit him in the assessment of his suitability for Category 2 matters. That two members of the Northern Selection Committee had a conflict of interest by reason of their professional association with a named barrister agai...

3. Wellington Standards Committee 2 v Austin [2016] NZLCDT 33 [pdf, 62 KB]

   ...November 2016 COUNSEL Mr G Burston and Ms A Garrick for the Standards Committee Mr P Chisnall for the Practitioner 2 REASONS OF THE TRIBUNAL FOR DECISION ON PENALTY Introduction [1] The practitioner had indicated a plea of guilty to a charge of negligence or incompetence such as to bring the profession into disrepute and both counsel had discussed and negotiated a proposed penalty which was put before the Tribunal. Having considered the considerable b...

4. Auckland Standards Committee v Murray [2014] NZLCDT 88 [pdf, 103 KB]

   ...fitness to practise in relation to any subsequent penalty hearing. Issue [11] Thus, the issue for this Tribunal to determine was whether the Standards Committee had established, on the balance of probabilities, the existence of the conviction pleaded. [12] We found that it had, and, subsequently after further submissions, determined the disciplinary charge itself to have been proven. [13] We reserved our reasons which are now stated: Evidence in Support of a Conviction [14]...

5. Complaints Assessment Committee 408 v Colin Boyer [2017] NZREADT 43 [pdf, 199 KB]

   ...____________________________________________________________________ DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL ____________________________________________________________________ [1] Mr Boyer is charged under s 73(a) or s 73(c)(iii) of the Real Estate Agents Act. He pleads guilty to this charge. Mr Boyer had faced two charges but following his plea of guilty to charge one the Complaints Assessment Committee withdrew charge two. [2] The charge that Mr Boyer faced is as follows: Charge one...

6. Sentencing in New Zealand: A statistical analysis [pdf, 1.1 MB]

   ...time the combined effects of a wide range of statistically-measurable factors on sentencing decisions. The factors included in this analysis range from the type and seriousness of the major offence committed, to the number of charges proved, the plea, and the demographic and previous criminal history characteristics of the offender. Previous research by the Ministry of Justice has shown that very substantial changes have occurred in sentencing over the past two decades, especially follo...

7. Auckland Standards Committee v Whale [2014] NZLCDT 22 [pdf, 89 KB]

   ...matter that may affect eligibility to practise) that criminal charges had been laid against him by the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) and the Financial Markets Authority (“FMA”). [14] Mr Whale was acquitted in respect of the SFO charges. He pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of the seven charges preferred by the FMA. [15] Mr Whale was sentenced in the High Court on 14 June 2013 to 12 months home detention, 250 hours community work and reparation of $75,000. Submissions fo...

8. High quality legal aid services [pdf, 466 KB]

   ...outcomes was framed in terms of facilitating their clients’ access to justice. A good outcome was described as getting the best possible result for the client considering the facts of the legal case – as related in the example below. A change of plea was to a reduced charge with potentially significant benefit to the client. The provider had difficulty getting witness briefs from [client] but perseverance paid off and a not guilty verdict was achieved. Auditors often acknowledged...

9. Allen + Clarke FV Courts Evaluation Final Report [pdf, 2 MB]

   ...cases The evaluation found that FV Courts are not reducing the amount of time it takes for family violence cases to be heard or disposed. The longer amount of time it takes for cases in the FV Court to progress to interim disposal (i.e. entering a plea; average days = 106 versus 70 for non-FV Courts; 50% longer) appears to be the result of regional variation in timeframes, rather than being attributed to the FV Courts themselves.4 However, the time to progress to interim disposal was fou...

10. Otago Standards Committee v Cottrell [2024] NZLCDT 25 (27 August 2024) [pdf, 117 KB]

    ...victims), and the personal gain involved in the offending, given that the three victims worked for Ms Cottrell’s company. His Honour referred to mitigating features and gave credit for Ms Cottrell as a first offender and having entered a guilty plea. The sentence imposed was four months’ community detention with $1,000 reparation payable to each of the three victims. [18] In relation to the M complaint, Ms M and her husband had, in 2016, acted on their own behalf in seeking...