New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

New Zealand Case Law

Included offences

  • 13 Sept 2019

    JESSE-JAMES WINTER v R [2019] NZSC 98

    Citation
    [2019] 1 NZLR 710
    Court
    Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal: the 'arming up' text was not properly admissible under s22A because it was not a statement made in furtherance of the joint enterprise when sent to a non-participant, but its wrongful admission did not produce a miscarriage of justice because the trial Judge's directions neutralised any prejudice; and the trial Judge did not err in declining to leave included lesser offences because no included offence was fairly raised on the evidence and any viable alternative would have been trifling or distracting.

  • 16 Jul 2018

    GRACE v R [2018] NZCA 254

    Citation
    [2018] NZCA 254
    Court
    Court of Appeal

    The Court held that lesser included/alternative charges properly put to the jury under s 143 CPA and recorded in a charge list (which has no independent legal status) may be the subject of valid convictions even where the jury cannot agree on the principal charges; convictions on included charges taken in this way are not a miscarriage provided the Crown does not seek a retrial on the principal charges (in which case pursuit might constitute an abuse of process as explained in Lualua). Consequently the convictions on the alternatives stood and there was no miscarriage. Extension of time to ap…