New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Special plea of previous conviction

Legal area

Court

7 Jul 2020

ASHWORTH v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2020] NZHC 1587

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1587
Court

High Court

Convictions under ss 57AA(4) and 56(1) of the Land Transport Act 1998 arising from the same act of driving with excess breath alcohol offend the rule against double jeopardy; accordingly the conviction under s 56(1) must be set aside, the guilty plea vacated and the charge dismissed, while the s 57AA conviction remains.
27 May 2020

NZ POLICE v MITCHELL [2020] NZHC 1143

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1143
Court

High Court

s46 CPA did not apply to bar the s32 charge because the two offences did not 'arise from the same facts' for double jeopardy purposes: the core punishable acts differ (excess alcohol level established by evidential test under s56 versus breach of zero-alcohol licence under s32), therefore the District Court erred in dismissing the s32 charge and that charge must be reinstated.