Losi Filipo could end up in jail - Professor Al Gillespie

  • 28/10/2016
Losi Filipo (file)
Losi Filipo (file)

A law expert says Losi Filipo could end up going to jail after police won the right to appeal his discharge without conviction.

Filipo assaulted four people during a night out in Wellington last October, and was granted the discharge because of his rugby career.

But University of Waikato law professor Al Gillespie says the judge overestimated the impact a conviction would have on his career and underestimated the violence.

"In this case I think it was misused or misunderstood, especially in this area of a very violent offence," he says.

"It's important that something like a discharge without conviction is not used lightly, and that's why it's correct now that it's going back for a second look at by the courts."

Prof Gillespie says a discharge without conviction needs to be in proportion with the gravity of offending.

"You have to show that it was out of character, that you've cooperated with the police, it was a one-off offence," he says.

"And a lot of that evidence may not have been examined in the first instance, so a lot of that other stuff may come back up - details of the event and how severe it was, which were underestimated by the first judge, will come back up."

Prof Gillespie says the case has set an important precedent for the future.

"It will sharpen the police in the future," he says.

"It'll sharpen the judges as well because there'll be a lot more scrutiny around it and especially with high-profile people - people will expect a higher standard and more consistency."

Police appealed Filipo's conviction following public outrage over the severity of the crime. 

Newshub.