The average wait for a jury trial in New Zealand is 425 days – and the coronavirus just made the problem a whole lot worse, write Nessa Lynch and Yvette Tinsley of Victoria University of Wellington. In a recent interview on Māori Television, chief district court judge Taumaunu described the Covid-19 pandemic as an unprecedented … Read more
Incrementalism will only take us so far, writes criminologist Jan Jordan, who argues the ‘system of injustice’ for sexual violence victims requires a transformational approach. Back in the mid-1990s a New Zealand judge, the Hon Justice E. W. Thomas, wrote an article slamming the lack of justice accorded rape victims by the very system in … Read more
The tale of the judge that went sailing with a QC that had just appeared before him, and the way it was handled, is almost enough to make you feel sorry for Jordan Williams, writes legal academic Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. There is a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl … Read more
For decades it has been the policy of NZ courts to send people convicted of Class A drug supply to prison for very long stretches of time, mostly because it was thought to lead to decreased drug supply. A series of cases in the Court of Appeal could change that, bringing the war on drugs … Read more
Summer reissue: High Court judge Justice Timothy Brewer asked a lawyer if she was making a “political point” by introducing herself and her client in te reo Māori. Sociolinguist Vini Olsen-Reeder unpacks the bias underpinning those comments. This post was first published 12 November 2018. Headlines about things Māori often seem to miss the point. “High … Read more
Last Tuesday, High Court judge Justice Timothy Brewer asked a lawyer if she was making a political point by introducing herself and her client in te reo Māori. Sociolinguist Vini Olsen-Reeder unpacks the bias underpinning those comments. Headlines about things Māori often seem to miss the point. “High Court judge asks if interpreter needed following lawyer’s … Read more
New Zealander Sam Bookman was working at the Supreme Court in Israel when the so-called ‘Boycott Law’ was being challenged. That law has now seen two NZ women targeted in the first ruling, over an open letter they wrote to Lorde last year. Here Bookman – no fan of the boycott movement – argues that … Read more
A Jerusalem court has ruled that two New Zealand women should cough up almost $19,000 in damages after calling for Lorde to boycott Israel. The chances of that being enforceable, however, are extremely slim, explains Otago law professor Andrew Geddis An Israeli court has ordered that two New Zealanders, Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab should … Read more
As the government is forced into retreat over its planned repeal of the three strikes law, it’s worth remembering just why it needs to go. The government’s plan to repeal the three strikes law may be dead (for now), but as long as it stays on the books, the reasons for the initial impetus to … Read more
Earlier this month the government cancelled the New Zealand passport of a woman living in Australia, citing classified security concerns. Stripping a NZ citizen of their passport might seem unprecedented – but it’s happened before, writes David Belgrave. Most of us in New Zealand believe that we have a basic right to travel outside the … Read more
A High Court hearing was this week shut off to everyone, including media – something even the judge calls ‘anathema to the fundamental concepts of fairness’. Andrew Geddis explains what’s going on. Something quite strange is happening at the High Court in Wellington this week. Journalists doing their regular rounds of that place’s pathos, bathos, … Read more
Faced with an absurdly rigid obligation to issue a prison sentence for a relatively minor offence, Justice Toogood deployed every drop of discretion available, writes Andrew Geddis New Zealand has had a “three strikes” sentencing regime in place for some six years now. At the time of its introduction, it was sold as a measure to … Read more
Content warning: This feature contains descriptions, though not the details, of sexual and physical abuse, which may be triggering to survivors. When I walk into the courtroom I see the back of my father’s head. It is grey-haired now, but I still want to smash it into pieces with some large, pointed, heavy instrument. Something … Read more
New Zealand 17-year-olds can’t vote, buy alcohol, gamble or marry. So why are they treated as adults once they’re arrested, asks Di White. Like an overachieving youngest sibling, New Zealand seems to be forever jumping up and down on the international stage, eager to be noticed and congratulated for its achievements. Whether it’s Lorde, our … Read more
Few of us can refrain from speculation when faced with a crime story like Making a Murderer and Serial – or Mark Lundy or David Bain. Elizabeth Beattie talks to New Zealand legal experts about the influence of social media on our most high profile trials. Had a conversation about Teresa Halbach’s RAV4 lately? What about Adnan … Read more