Supreme Court case information

Listed below are the substantive Supreme Court cases for the year along with appeals still to be determined or cases awaiting hearing. 

Information giving an overview of the case is included along with media releases and links to judgments being appealed when available.

All 2024 - 2014 Supreme Court cases dismissed or deemed to be dismissed where a notice of abandonment was received can be found here.

Transcripts for cases heard before the Supreme Court are included provided they are not suppressed. Transcripts from pre-trial hearings are not published until the final disposition of trial. These are unedited transcripts and they are not a formal record of the Court’s proceedings. The Ministry of Justice does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any material and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.

12 December 2025

Case information summary 2025 (as at 18 December 2025) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 87 KB)
Case information summary 2025 (as at 18 December 2025)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 121 KB)

All years

Case name
P v Commonwealth of Australia and District Court of Wellington
Case number
SC 113/2024
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.                                                          
13 May 2025
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Raymond Iveagh Jury v The King
Case number
SC 114/2024
Summary

Criminal Appeal

Result

A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B Leave to appeal is granted in part (Jury v R [2024] NZCA 320).
C The approved questions are:
(a) whether the High Court erred by admitting the hearsay statements of Rex Maney in evidence, and if so, whether the error occasioned a miscarriage of justice; and
(b) whether the trial Judge’s failure to give a reliability direction under s 122 of the Evidence Act 2006 with respect to those statements occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
D The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
17 March 2025

Date of hearing
05 August 2025
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, Ellen France, Kós and Miller JJ
Transcripts
Case Synopses
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave granted
Case name
Vasa Johnston v The King
Case number
SC 115/2024
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
8 November 2024
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Richard Lincoln v Attorney-General
Case number
SC 116/2024
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B There is no order as to costs.                                                                                          
28 February 2025
Case name
Ruth Ramirez-Alfonso v The King
Case number
SC 117/2024
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
16 April 2025
Case name
Davina Valerie Reid v New Zealand Law Society
Case number
SC 118/2024
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
C The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $2,500.                                                            
21 February 2025
Case name
Vincent Ross Siemer v Attorney-General and Registrar of the Supreme Court
Case number
SC 119/2024
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Case name
Barry John Bailey v The King
Case number
SC 120/2024
Summary

Criminal Appeal

Result

A  Leave to appeal is granted (R v Bailey [2024] NZCA 552).
B  The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to allow the appeal.
5 March 2025 

Date of hearing
16 July 2025
Judges
Glazebrook, Ellen France, Williams, Kós and Miller JJ
Submissions from litigants in person
Transcripts
Case Synopses
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Videos
Case name
R (SC 121/2024) v The King
Case number
SC 121/2024
Summary
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED
Result
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED
23 December 2024
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Case name
Christopher Oliver Brice v The King
Case number
SC 122/2024
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
11 April 2025
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed