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.
28 November 2025
Case information summary 2025 (as at 28 November 2025) – Cases where leave granted (PDF, 87 KB)
Case information summary 2025 (as at 28 November 2025) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 120 KB)
All years
Case name
Ramon Dirk Johannes de Mey v The Queen
Case number
SC 31/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal upholding conviction for common assault - whether there was a miscarriage of justice resulting from insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. CA 169/04 17 December 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
29 June 2005
29 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DE MEY V R SC SC 31/2005 [29 June 2005] (PDF, 14 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
David John Young v Land Transport Safety Authority
Case number
SC 33/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against the decision of the High Court - leave to appeal refused by the Court of Appeal - whether defence of self-defence correctly applied to facts. CRI 2004 409 000196, 29 November 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Ada Sharon Pue v The Queen
Case number
SC 36/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal against sentence - whether well-being of offender’ s school-age children given insufficient weight - whether minimum sentence of imprisonment justified under s 86(3) of the Sentencing Act 2002. CA 78/04 19 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 10 August 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
ADA SHARON PUE V R SC SC 36/2005 10 August 2005 (PDF, 15 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Scott Simeon Thompson v The Queen
Case number
SC 42/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal - whether the Court erred in dismissing a claim of miscarriage of justice by reason of the complainant’s conduct. CA 445/04 16 June 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted. 22 September 2005
Media Releases
- mrt (PDF, 79 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
THOMPSON V R SC 42/2005 [15 February 2006] (PDF, 92 KB)
Transcript
Case name
David Fruean v The Queen
Case number
SC 43/2005
Summary
Criminal Law - “ whether a comment by a trial judge describing portions of an out of court statement as "self-serving" during evidence, necessitates a jury direction that "the whole of a mixed out of court statement is evidence of the facts stated". CA 73/05 22 June 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 7 September 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
FRUEAN V R SC 43/2005 [7 September 2005] (PDF, 16 KB)
Case name
Colyn David Stoves v The Queen
Case number
SC 44/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to give sufficient weight to the delay between conviction and sentencing in assessing the applicant’s appeal against sentence - whether the Court of Appeal wrongly concluded that the Crown was not obliged to make an application under s 344A of the Crimes Act when advised that the admissibility of certain evidence was to be challenged by the applicant . CA 457/04 24 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 22 September 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
STOVES V R SC 44/2005 [22 September 2005] (PDF, 15 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Richard Geoffrey Bull v The Queen
Case number
SC 48/2005
Summary
Criminal law - whether defence counsel conduct resulted in a miscarriage of justice - whether total sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment was manifestly excessive. CA 143/04 8 November 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 8 December 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
BULL v R SC 48/2005 [8 December 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Case name
L v The Queen
Case number
SC 49/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal against conviction - appellant convicted of sexual violation and attempted sexual violation - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the trial Judge did not misdirect the jury - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding the verdicts were capable of being supported by the evidence – whether the Court of Appeal erred in the standard required for an attempt.
CA 115/05 18 July 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted
7 October 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Case name
Alain Michael Mafart and Dominique Angela Francoise Prieur v Television New Zealand Limited
Case number
SC 50/2005
Summary
Leave to search, inspect and copy criminal records held by the High Court - videotape of Rainbow Warrior proceedings - jurisdiction of Court of Appeal - whether application for leave to search is civil or criminal - whether Court of Appeal jurisdiction precluded by the Judicature Act 1908, s 66. CA 92/05 4 August 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted 21 September 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Transcript
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Noel Clement Rogers v The Queen
Case number
SC 52/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - whether the Court erred in finding post arrest statements by the accused admissible - whether allowing the statements to be admitted is inconsistent with ss 23 and 24 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 - whether, no appeal having been heard by the Court of Appeal, this is an appropriate case to "leap frog" under s 14 of the Supreme Court Act 2003 . CRI 2004 004 013121 2 August 2005
Result
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed. 29 September 2005
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