R v PANEPASA HAVEA [2017] NZHC 545

R v PANEPASA HAVEA [2017] NZHC 545

The witness's confirmation of recognition together with contextual statements constituted a visual identification under s4; the evidence was admissible under s45 because the defendant did not prove unreliability and the witness's equivocal language affected weight for the jury not admissibility, so the identification evidence was permitted at trial.

Citation
[2017] NZHC 545
Parties
Crown: The Queen; Defendant: Panepasa Havea
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
23 March 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal Kidnapping / Pre Trial Identification Admissibility Hearing
Outcome
Identification evidence admitted
Legal Topics
Visual Identification, Photo Montage Identification, Identification Reliability, Evidence Act S4, S8, S45
Evidence Criminal Law Visual Identification Photo Montage Identification Identification Reliability Evidence Act S4,s8,s45

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 9 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

The Queen

Crown

Panepasa Havea

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Kidnapping / Pre Trial Identification Admissibility Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether witness statements constituted visual identification evidence under s4 Evidence Act 2006
  2. 2 Whether the photo-board identification amounted only to resemblance evidence
  3. 3 Whether the identification evidence was inadmissible under s8 as unfairly prejudicial

Ratio Decidendi

The witness's confirmation of recognition together with contextual statements constituted a visual identification under s4; the evidence was admissible under s45 because the defendant did not prove unreliability and the witness's equivocal language affected weight for the jury not admissibility, so the identification evidence was permitted at trial.

Court Disposition

Identification evidence admitted

Orders

  • Identification evidence of Aenoi Khammanivong identifying photo 5 (Panepasa Havea) is admissible against Panepasa Havea at trial
  • Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial; publication in law report or law digest permitted