Friday, May 24, 2019

Conviction appeals from judge-alone trials: review or rehearing?

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On one of those subtle issues that would only occur to lawyers, the Supreme Court has decided how appeals under  s 232(2)(b)  of the Crimi...
Thursday, April 25, 2019

Book review: Doing Justice by Preet Bharara

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A book with a blurb that I agree with: “Simply, utterly brilliant ... Bursting with humility and humanity.” You may have to make al...
Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Book of Why by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie

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Perhaps, after hearing rumours that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace judges and juries, you have picked up a book called  The Book...
Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Go back!

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What should be done about  the failure   of the  Psychoactive Substances Act 2013   to control unapproved psychoactive products? Unappr...
Thursday, February 14, 2019

It's a matter for you ... but you may well think ...

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The High Court of Australia has accepted that, as a general rule, judges presiding at jury trials should not comment on issues of fact:  M...
Saturday, December 22, 2018

Fair process and choice of mode of trial

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In  S(SC 36/2018) v R  [2018] NZSC 124 , (the Court of Appeal decision is noted  here   on 5 May 2018) the defendant had not been told that...
Thursday, December 13, 2018

Case Note: Onus and standard of proof that evidence was improperly obtained: Kearns v R [2017] NZCA 51, [2017] 2 NZLR 835

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Criminal lawyers in New Zealand are familiar with   s 30 of the Evidence Act 2006   which concerns the admissibility of improperly obtained...
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Reflections on Lundy

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Good to see the Court of Appeal’s judgment in  Lundy v R  [2018] NZCA  410   (9 October 2018) delivered at last. It’s one of those “wor...
Tuesday, September 25, 2018

When "must" a jury find a defendant guilty?

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It is wrong for judges to compose, for use by juries in reaching verdicts, question trails that include directions that a verdict of guilty...
Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Knowledge, belief, and recklessness in criminal law

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Are the courts too willing to use an unsound definition of the mens rea requirement of knowledge? A workable definition of knowledge i...