Auckland High Court Sentencing Competition By Chris Smol
Wednesday 23 September marked the final round of this year’s Sentencing Advocacy Competition, held by the Ministry of Justice at the Auckland High Court and sponsored by the New Zealand Bar Association for students from Auckland University of Technology, the University of Auckland and the University of Waikato.
persuasive on their key issues, while working to mitigate the impact of less-favourable facts. Particularly amusing was a principled skirmish around s 9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002, on whether violence towards supporters of Liverpool Football Club could be considered a type of hate crime. His Honour observed the standard made for an unusually close match, though Diana Qiu ultimately edged it out over Josie Butcher. His Honour also gave some real-world insight into which submissions were convincing, and how sentencing of the unique scenario might turn out in the real world. Despite the various pandemic-related hiccups, students’ feedback was consistently positive. In particular, the students reported really valuing the opportunity to receive direct, granular feedback on their advocacy from judges.
The competition provides students an opportunity to gain advocacy experience in one of the more routine areas of the law – sentencing – by submitting on behalf of a fictional defendant or the Crown in front of an actual Judge. This year’s competition had a distinctly 2020 flavour. Competitors researched and wrote submissions, before defending them in Court, but were also treated to last-minute adjournments (courtesy of Auckland’s second lockdown) and the thrill of courtroom audio-link issues over Zoom. While the later rounds were able to be held in person, COVID’s presence was still felt – in restricted spectators and the cancellation of the usual postfinals function.
The organisers gratefully recognise the support of the New Zealand Bar Association, and thank all those who were involved in the competition. The NZBA congratulates all of those who took part, as well as the organisers, on another successful competition. We look forward to a less technologically challenging competition in 2021.
Nevertheless, the finals were an excellent demonstration of both written and oral advocacy. Josie Butcher and Diana Qiu argued the case of Robert Fyfe, a member of the “Tartan Nasties”, charged with manslaughter after stabbing a haemophiliac at a paintball match. Justice Gault presided over the final. His feedback was largely positive, reflecting the advocacy on display, with counsel for both sides each proving
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