Tauroa v R - [2026] NZHC 2348

Ms Tauroa was sentenced in the District Court to two years and eight months' imprisonment and disqualified from driving for two years following a guilty plea to one charge of dangerous driving causing death.  The victim was her 10-year-old stepbrother.  Ms Tauroa was 23 years old at the time of the offending.  Ms Tauroa appealed against that sentence on the basis that more than a 40 per cent reduction for various mitigating factors should have been allowed, although that was all that was asked for at the time of sentencing.

Held: appeal allowed in part.  The Court held that applying the 40 per cent cap under s 9Q of the Sentencing Act 2002 would result in manifest injustice under s 9R.  A reduction of 45 per cent, and at most 47.5 per cent, was the least extent necessary to avoid manifest injustice.  This reflect Ms T's youth, otherwise good character as a true first offender, community support (which wasn't explicitly allowed for), together with her guilty plea, remorse and capacity for rehabilitation, together with the profound trauma arising from the death of her young stepbrother and the lifelong consequences of the offending (which had been allowed for).  The sentence of two years and eight months' imprisonment was quashed and replaced with two years and four months' imprisonment.  The two-year driving disqualification remained.