Sunday, December 22, 2019

On the evidence: the verdict in Lundy

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Don’t let me fall into the trap of getting into an argument about the  Lundy  verdict. By verdict I mean the verdict reached by the Supreme...
Friday, December 20, 2019

Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis - or do we?

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Would the result in  Lundy v R   [2019] NZSC 152 have been the same if it had been determined under our current appeal provisions,  s 232 ...
Friday, December 13, 2019

All in the way you look at it

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De Silva v The Queen   [2019] HCA 48  (13 December 2019) is one of those cases in which, for an uninvolved reader, the dissenting judgment ...
Friday, December 06, 2019

New hardcopy edition of Misuse of Drugs

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As any intelligent person knows, it is better to read about drug offences than to commit them. With that in mind, it can only be helpfu...
Wednesday, December 04, 2019

Suspicion

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If you ever thought statutory interpretation could sometimes be a bit puzzling, take comfort from the High Court of Australia’s struggle in...
Tuesday, December 03, 2019

As Clive James said ...

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Now that rain has stopped play at Seddon Park, let me share some of my favourite Clive James quotes: From  The Meaning of Recognition –...
Monday, December 02, 2019

Appellate review to identify miscarriages of justice in conviction appeals

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If you were ever worried about whether conviction appeals under  s 232(2)(c) and (4)  of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 are determined by w...
Thursday, November 14, 2019

On being helpful

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A defendant’s right to a fair trial is an absolute right, but is the right to procedural fairness absolute? Can a trial be fair if its proc...
Thursday, November 07, 2019

An unreasonable jury verdict

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The criminal courtroom can make innocence look like guilt. A combination of circumstances persuaded a jury and a first appeal court tha...
Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Sentencing for methamphetamine dealing

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In a splendidly clear judgment our Court of Appeal has revised the law on sentencing for methamphetamine dealing (importing, manufacturing,...

New edition of Criminal Procedure in New Zealand

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Don’t let me stop you  ordering your copy   of the newly published  Criminal Procedure in New Zealand  (3 rd  ed) by Emeritus Professor Jere...
Tuesday, October 08, 2019

Probative value and prejudicial effect: when weighing is not balancing

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Weighing probative value against unfairly prejudicial effect Section  8   of the Evidence Act 2006 sets out a generally applicable exclus...