New Zealand justice system

[Banditbandit]

Here's how it works: Parliament legislates a maximum sentence for every criminal offence. The Courts then have to find a way to fix sentences across the whole gamut of struggling humanity who appear before them. Offences which range from a slap through broken limbs to permanent bodily harm. Then there's fraud, theft, drugs...just bad stuff.

The offenders range from mentally retarded through personality disorders to dysfunctional humans you'd cross the street to avoid. Plus the opportunists, the average bloke who is broken by temptation.

The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal periodically issue guidelines to help lower court judges with sentencing. But apart from that judges are on their own. Geoff Hall (my old Crimes lecturer) writes a continually updated book on "Sentencing" and it's the bible for lawyers and judges. $800 and its yours - plus $250 updates.

If you step back from the headlines and view cases across a range, you'll find the sentences are roughly consistent. Not the same, not equal, but similar. Judges are human just like the offenders and sometimes mercy is shown.

There was an interesting example somewhere back in the 1970s -80s when there was a big outcry against "light sentences" ... A district court judge accepted an invitation to address a Rotary Club on this issue - he took some examples of crimes and circumstances (with names removed) to the meeting, divided the people up into groups and asked each group to put the appriopriate sentence on the case he gave them.

In ever case the Rotary Club members, with all the circumstances in front of them, put lesser sentences on the criminals than the judges had handed out ...

[Katman]

The bank fraud case is a good example of how money crimes are treated. Lightly. I'd have started at 7 years if I was sentencing him - farg, $4 million still missing!! I suspect the Triads or Macau casinos have it and he's afraid to say in case he doesn't survive prison.

I'm more inclined to think it's buried in a hole somewhere.

Hell, I'd go to prison for 4 and a half years (probably out in 1 and a half) if I knew there was 4 million waiting for me outside.

[jim.cox]

Its a LEGAL system

Not a justice system

They're not related

[Road kill]

Not that I believe it could be true,but I read that some suit and a few of his mates resently ripped off 14,500 people for most of their life savings and only got 9 months home D.

Not only that,,,but he also decided to take an overseas holiday while waiting for the appeal against his huge an unjust sentence.

Respect for our justice system,,,,yeah right.

[Maki]

The lesson seems to be that if you are poor and steal from the rich, in this case a huge bank, they will make you suffer for it big time. If however you are rich and steal from poor people, the life savings of pensioners for example you can expect to be treated with silk gloves and get home detention, same as if you break someone's legs on purpose.

[oneofsix]

The lesson seems to be that if you are poor and steal from the rich, in this case a huge bank, they will make you suffer for it big time. If however you are rich and steal from poor people, the life savings of pensioners for example you can expect to be treated with silk gloves and get home detention, same as if you break someone's legs on purpose.

Nothing new there, in ancient Greece;
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
Aesop
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/qu...wvlKrHbWFTz.99

Slowly we improve things, we no longer hang the petty thief nor deport them even though some would still like to, and we hold those in high positions to more account, wished we could hang some of them.

[Winston001]

If however you are rich and steal from poor people, the life savings of pensioners for example you can expect to be treated with silk gloves...

Mmmm...not really. For doing that, 7 year prison sentences were given today to directors and managers at Capital and Merchant Finance. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/capital...iled-gb-127349

Plus similar sentences for Rod Petrecivic (piece of filth) and others at Bridgecorp.

[Winston001]

Its a LEGAL system

Not a justice system

They're not related

No, its both but we all know what you mean.

FYI the law is concerned about logical rules which apply equally to all. The law is about certainty not fairness.

That might sound harsh but in practise judges do what they can to be fair.

There is a whole vast study of the law, called jurisprudence, which extends back to the ancient Greeks. Its a kind of philosophy and the greybeards get into algebra interpreting legal case decisions.

So what I'm saying is that the whole law=justice=fairness debate has gone on for centuries and will continue as our laws evolve. Lawyers police politicians and judges get just as frustrated as the rest of us.

[Winston001]

A man who uses a lethal weapon (car) to run a person over get's a fine and some community work.


Does this make any sense?

I started this post in annoyance at Judge Raoul Neave who has been taking some stick for his sentencing comments on this case.

I was appalled - because he's not stupid - but appeared to be exactly that.

Initially it was because I was astonished at what the Judge said as reported on the TV news...

"Indeed I have wondered at some length whether or not if this had been an encounter between two teenage boys on the backstreets of Manukau whether we would be here today."

Then I looked further...

....the comments were taken out of context by the ankle-deep mental midgets who call themselves journalists. FFS! What actually happened is the judge observed that this case had been high profile, far beyond its importance, and a disproportionate amount of prurient public interest had been generated by the media.

In other words TV/newsprint guys and gals - would you be here if this was a typical Manukau driving/street fight/yadda yadda case?? No you wouldn't. You wouldn't even bother to report the case.

Pathetic.

Not that you'll find this analysis anywhere.