New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

New Zealand Case Law

Trial irregularity

  • 5 Feb 2019

    D (CA54/2018) v R [2019] NZCA 1

    Citation
    [2019] NZCA 1
    Court
    Court of Appeal

    The Court held s59 did not protect the helpline call because the call was for suicidal ideation unconnected to a condition manifesting in criminal conduct; s69 permitted limited, redacted disclosure and appropriate editing mitigated likely harm so admission of the edited transcript did not cause miscarriage of justice; defence counsel's agreement to use an edited transcript was a competent tactical decision; the judge's limitation on implicating a third party was lawful and did not unfairly obstruct defence explanation; conviction appeal dismissed; sentence appeal allowed in part by quashing…

  • 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…