New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Publication prohibition

Legal area

Court

30 Oct 2023

F (SC 90/2023) v R [2023] NZSC 143

Citation

[2023] NZSC 143
Court

Supreme Court

Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court is required when this Court is the first appeal court because s285(1)(b) and Senior Courts Act 2016 provisions require commencement by application for leave; leave was granted limited to whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining an order under s205(2)(c) but declined in relation to the s202 issue because that raised essentially factual matters lacking general or public importance and no appearance of miscarriage of justice; interim publication prohibition continuing until final resolution of the appeal was ordered and Court of Appeal orders were disch…
12 Sept 2023

R v M [2023] NZHC 2541

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2541
Court

High Court

Defendant was integral to a large-scale, violent, and prolonged riot and arson campaign; as a participant he was properly found liable as principal or party under s66 for multiple serious offences; prison conditions did not mitigate culpability; applying parity with co-offenders the global starting point was 12 years 6 months, reduced by 30% (15% for personal circumstances and 15% for youth) to an end sentence of 8 years 9 months; no minimum period imposed.
7 Jul 2023

KARAKA v R [2023] NZCA 283

Citation

[2023] NZCA 283
Court

Court of Appeal

The appellant was granted an extension of time because the delay was satisfactorily explained and the appeal had obvious merit; trial counsel's closing was deficient to the point of causing a miscarriage of justice because the defendant's case was not properly put to the jury; the convictions for aggravated robbery and receiving were set aside; having regard to the appellant's circumstances, sentence served and fairness, no retrial was ordered; publication of deceased counsel's identifying particulars was prohibited.
16 Mar 2023

A (SC 70/2022) v MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS [2023] NZSC 21

Citation

[2023] NZSC 21
Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal and identified the approved question for the appeal as whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
22 Oct 2020

PARKER v R [2020] NZCA 524

Citation

[2020] NZCA 524
Court

Court of Appeal

An interim suppression order under s292 should be granted where the applicant has filed within the Court's specified timeframe and respondents do not oppose, so as not to deny the Supreme Court the opportunity to consider an intended application for leave to appeal; the court will exercise its discretion to preserve suppression pending the filing deadline (s291(2)).
15 Jun 2020

R v TAMIHANA [2020] NZHC 1365

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1365
Court

High Court

Given the nature and seriousness of the attempted murder, the Court set a starting point of six years six months, allowed a 15% (one year) discount for established mental illness and related mitigation, a further 15% for cultural factors and restorative justice engagement, and a 20% discount for an early guilty plea, resulting in a determinate sentence of three years eight months imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of 22 months; non‑custodial supervision was rejected as insufficient given the gravity, violence, victim vulnerability and need for denunciation and protection.
5 Mar 2020

SHAY O’CARROLL v R [2020] NZSC 15

Citation

[2020] NZSC 15
Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal on the approved question whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal, finding the question warranted consideration; bail was extended pending determination of the appeal.
19 Dec 2019

C v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 3431

Citation

[2019] NZHC 3431
Court

High Court

The appeal was allowed because, applying settled sentencing principles (including the Patel factors), giving appropriate weight to additional mitigating material (genuine assistance offers, restorative justice engagement and extreme remorse) and the statutory preference for the least restrictive outcome compatible with community safety, the appropriate sentence was 12 months home detention rather than two years six months imprisonment; registration on the Child Sex Offender Register and publication prohibition were ordered.
23 Oct 2019

LEE KALSO PERI THOMPSON v R [2019] NZSC 116

Citation

[2019] NZSC 116
Court

Supreme Court

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed because the record lacks sufficient material to resolve the complex questions about the admissibility of propensity evidence in sexual offending against children; expert evidence is necessary and should be led at trial court level before appellate consideration.
16 Sept 2019

C (CA491/2018) v R [2019] NZCA 434

Citation

[2019] NZCA 434
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court found the complainant's recantation not credible and untrue based on the context of changed residence and animosity toward the mother, the timing and use of the statements in Family Court proceedings, the implausibility and rejection of the appellant's defence at trial, consistency of the complainant's original testimony including a recorded interview across two trials, and limitations of the complainant's memory; accordingly the extension of time and leave to adduce fresh evidence were granted but the appeal was dismissed and a publication prohibition under s140 Criminal Justice Ac…