Wells v Police - [1987] 2 NZLR 560

Criminal law — Practice and procedure — Audience — Right of audience on sentencing to give information on offender's ethnic or cultural background — Whether information on offender's ethnic or cultural background may be given from the body of the Court rather than from the witness box on oath and subject to cross-examination — Criminal Justice Act 1985, s 16.

Criminal law — Practice and procedure — Appeal against sentence on grounds sentence clearly excessive or inappropriate — Whether appellate Court may interfere notwithstanding that grounds specified in the Act are not made out — Whether appellate Court entitled to take into account factors arising after sentence passed in lower Court — Summary Proceedings Act 1957, s 121(3)(b).