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
Mathew Raymond Charles Watson v The King
Case number
SC 125/2024
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.                                                          
28 March 2025
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Jianzhong Cheng v The King
Case number
SC 126/2024
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
03 April 2025
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
NZME Publishing Limited v Brenton Harrison Tarrant, The King and Lawyers A and B
Case number
SC 128/2024
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B Order prohibiting search of the files for this application without leave of a Judge of this Court.
11 April 2025
Case name
G (SC 130/2024) v The King
Case number
SC 130/2024
Summary

Criminal Appeal

Result

A Leave to appeal is granted ([2024] NZCA 626).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal against sentence.
04 April 2025

Date of hearing
22 July 2025
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, Williams, Kós and Miller JJ
Case Synopses
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Case name
J (SC 135/2024) v The King
Case number
SC 135/2024
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.                                                            
20 May 2025

High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Matthew Nigel John Wilcox v The King
Case number
SC 138/2024
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A notice of abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to appeal is abandoned                     
23 June 2025

District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Case name
Garath Richard Collings v The King
Case number
SC 4/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
14 June 2023
Case name
Madhur Sharma v The King
Case number
SC 6/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
14 April 2023
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Kevin Riley Plant v The King
Case number
SC 7/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
_________________________________________________________________________________
Result
A notice of abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed. 11 July 2023
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Case name
Tristan Ross Locke v The King
Case number
SC 9/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.

18 May 2023
Leave judgment - leave dismissed