The former owners of Sentry Hill Winery, who were convicted of defrauding New Zealand Customs, are appealing the decision on the basis that they received bad legal advice.
Stephen and Wendy Parkes were convicted in July after pleading guilty to manufacturing excisable goods in an unlicensed area, selling uncustomed goods and defrauding Customs of revenue. The pair failed to get a discharge without conviction and were fined $3500, along with a reparation order of $13,676.25 in unpaid excise tax.
However, the couple’s lawyer is now arguing that the pair received bad legal advice in one particular case which was central to the prosecution argument.
"But for that advice, they would not have faced the charges before the court," said lawyer Julian Hannam.
Hannam said that the judge failed to give proper weight to the issue when sentencing, but crown prosecutor Jacob Bourke said that the judge was aware of it and the decision made was correct.
The judge has reserved his decision.
