R v Raroa

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND GISBORNE REGISTRY

CRI 2011-082-000360 [2013] NZHC 3436

THE QUEEN

v

RIKI JOHN RAROA

Appearances: S B Manning and K Laurenson for the Crown
E R Fairbrother QC for Mr Raroa

Date: 16 December 2013

SENTENCING REMARKS OF GILBERT J

R v RAROA [2013] NZHC 3436 [16 December 2013]

[1] Mr Raroa, you appear for sentence today having been found guilty by a jury of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do so. The maximum penalty for this offence is a term of imprisonment of 15 years.

[2] You were previously convicted of this offending and of participating in an organised criminal group. On 8 June 2012, Lang J sentenced you to a term of 10 and a half years’ imprisonment on the grievous bodily harm charge and to a term of five years’ imprisonment on the other charge. These sentences were to be served concurrently. No minimum term of imprisonment was imposed.

[3] The Court of Appeal overturned your conviction on the grievous bodily harm charge and directed a retrial. You were convicted again following the retrial.

[4] Because you have already been sentenced on an earlier occasion for this same offending, I do not need to repeat what Lang J said at the time of the first sentencing. Despite the careful submissions of your counsel, Mr Fairbrother QC, my intention in sentencing you today is to place you in the same position that you would have been in had there been no appeal and no retrial. I am not persuaded that Lang J made any error in the sentence he imposed and I note there was no appeal from that sentence. I consider it was an appropriate sentence.

[5] Counsel advise that because of your remand status over the last 18 months, the sentence I need to impose to put you in the same position you would have been in had there been no appeal or retrial is a term of imprisonment of nine years,
11 months. That is accordingly the sentence I impose.

M A Gilbert J

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Raroa involved the defendant, Riki John Raroa, who was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do so. The case was heard in the High Court of New Zealand, Gisborne Registry. Raroa was sentenced following his conviction after a retrial, as the Court of Appeal had previously overturned his initial conviction on the grievous bodily harm charge. The maximum penalty for the offence was a term of imprisonment of 15 years.

The court was required to decide on the appropriate sentence for Raroa, taking into account his previous conviction and sentence for the same offence, as well as his current remand status. The legal issue at hand was whether the original sentence imposed by Lang J was appropriate, and if not, what adjustment was necessary to account for the retrial and time spent on remand.

The court determined that the original sentence was appropriate and that it was not necessary to impose a different sentence for the retrial. Given Raroa's remand status over the last 18 months, the court calculated that a sentence of nine years and 11 months would place Raroa in the same position he would have been in had there been no appeal or retrial. This sentence was imposed by M A Gilbert J.

The final orders of the court were that Riki John Raroa was to serve a term of imprisonment of nine years and 11 months, reflecting the adjustments made for the retrial and his time on remand.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established