It is the unhappy lot of judges to be criticised for the sentences they impose. There is nothing wrong with that. Robert Fisher, KC New Zealand is an open, democratic society. Judges are ultimately answerable to the public. It is right that sentences should be open to criticism. Sometimes, the criticism is ill-informed. That is scarcely surprising. Sentencing is not a simple matter. In 2002, Parliament told judges how to go about it. The Sentencing Act runs to 138 pages. Among other things, the Act requires sentencing judges to take into account 36 different considerations — including such matters as the gravity of the offending, the maximum penalty for the particular offence, whether the offence involved violence, the age of the offender, whether the offender pleaded guilty, and the offender's whānau and cultural background.

https://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/column/what-critics-of-judges-dont-understand

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