Monday, July 26, 2010

Exculpatory statements ... and trials in the fullness of time

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A brief note on two Privy Council decisions from last week: Gordon v R (Belize) [2010] UKPC 18 (21 July 2010) is an interesting little remin...
Friday, July 23, 2010

Res gestae lives again! And implied assertions are statements.

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The majority in Rongonui v R [2010] NZSC 92 did not share the Chief Justice's view that "res gestae" is an outmoded term (se...

Prior consistent statements

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Hart v R [2010] NZSC 91 (23 July 2010) addresses the law of the admissibility of prior consistent statements in the context of a claim of ...
Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Collateral attack, witness immunity, and abuse of process

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An orthodox application of Hunter v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police [1982] AC 529 (HL), prohibiting the use of civil proceeding...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Stubborn beliefs and the elusive truth

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On how we let our beliefs get in the way of the facts, and on how contrary facts merely entrench our preconceived beliefs, see this article ...
Friday, July 09, 2010

It takes all sorts ...

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I have previously noted Lord Rodger's dark humour. Unless he is one of those chaps who seems funnier the further away one gets from him...
Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Free speech and foolishness

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Once again our passionate little nation is in thrall to the Bain case (see my comments posted 8 June 2009 ). Last night a television documen...
Sunday, July 04, 2010

Multiple judgment cases: an illusory paradox

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Sometimes multi-judgment cases challenge the analytical powers of readers. Especially when there is no headnote, and also when they seem to ...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Drug discovery in liquor ban searches

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One of the knotty little problems that crops up in the lower courts is whether a police search for alcohol in a person's possession in a...
Friday, June 25, 2010

Outsmarting the smart

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With my 3 July 2008 comments on Gafgen v Germany still at the forefront of your consciousness, you will be surprised that I have let a few...
Friday, June 18, 2010

Expert opinions going too far

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Experts should not express opinions about whether sexual activity was by consent without sufficient foundation: Tuhura v R [2010] NZCA 246 ...
Thursday, June 17, 2010

Weighing: fact or law?

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Where a judge has to balance one consideration against another, is the determination of the weight to be given to each consideration a quest...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Free speech and fair trials

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Prospective jurors can safely be told anything about an accused's past. That radical proposition receives some support from the High Cou...
Thursday, June 03, 2010

The significance of silence

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Hush! My silence means I might speak! My silence has a Beckettian significance. "Today's decision turns Miranda upside down. Crim...
Tuesday, June 01, 2010

The durability of inducements

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R v SGT [2010] SCC 20 (27 May 2010) gives us a reminder of some fundamentals about life and law. A person who would, if charged with a part...
Monday, May 31, 2010

A critical age

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A glance at practice in other nations supported the United States Supreme Court's decision (6-3) that the Constitution does not permit a...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The mental elements of conspiracy

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Conspiracy is an agreement to commit an offence plus an intention that the offence should be committed by one or more of the conspirators. T...
Thursday, May 20, 2010

Highest procedural protection, but not by jury trial

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Since proceedings for contempt of court must be summary, in the sense that jury trials are not appropriate for contempt, they cannot be puni...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Relativity and mitigating factors

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Lawyers' reasoning is not always easy for non-lawyers to grasp. It is obvious to criminal lawyers that if at sentencing a mitigating fac...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Finding mistrial and ordering retrial after acquittal

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In R v Gwaze [2010] NZSC 52 (17 May 2010) a retrial was ordered because some defence evidence had been admitted wrongly and there had been...