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.

17 August 2026

Case information summary (as at 17 August 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 87 KB)
Case information summary (as at 17 August 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 128 KB) 

All years

Case name
Lewis Eru Craig v The Queen
Case number
SC 59/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the interests of the victim were taken into account in sentencing (s 7(1)(c) of the Sentencing Act 2002) – Whether the defendant had a reasonable expectation he would not be imprisoned before he pleaded guilty – Whether the final sentence imposed was manifestly excessive – Whether there was a miscarriage of justice
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 26 September 2019
High Court decision
R v THOMPSON [2018] NZHC 2608 [5 October 2018]
Court of Appeal decision
TROON v R [2019] NZCA 265 [27 June 2019]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
LEWIS ERU CRAIG v R [2019] NZSC 103 [26 September 2019] (PDF, 52 KB)
Case name
Marko Otis v The Queen
Case number
SC 60/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether there are exceptional circumstances justifying a direct appeal from the High Court – Whether the High Court erred in upholding the District Court’s refusal to grant a discharge without conviction.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
11 October 2019
High Court decision
OTIS v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZHC 1383 [12 June 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MARKO OTIS v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZSC 113 [11 October 2019] (PDF, 42 KB)
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Case name
Melanie Wichart v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 61/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining leave to bring a second appeal (in relation to admissible evidence for proving a charge of driving with excess blood alcohol and in relation to the onus of proof in relation to the expiry date of a specimen kit).
Result
A The application for an extension of time is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
27 September 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
High Court decision
WICHART v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZHC 3069 [23 November 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MELANIE WICHART v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZSC 104 [27 September 2019] (PDF, 251 KB)
Case name
T (SC62/2019) v The Queen
Case number
SC 62/2019
Summary
Criminal appeal - Application for leave to bring criminal appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
7 October 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
T (CA742/2017) v R [2019] NZCA 150 [9 May 2019]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
T (SC 62/2019) v R [2019] NZSC 106 [7 October 2019] (PDF, 52 KB)
Case name
Timothy John Jackson v The Queen
Case number
SC 66/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the applicant can bring a second appeal against conviction – Whether the absence of a trial transcript deprives the applicant of his right to appeal against conviction or made the applicant’ s conviction unsafe or unsatisfactory
District Court decision
Not publicly available
High Court decision
JACKSON v POLICE [2018] NZHC 2297 [3 September 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
TIMOTHY JOHN JACKSON v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZSC 105 [4 October 2019] (PDF, 47 KB)
Case name
R v The Queen
Case number
SC 67/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 43 – Propensity – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the appeal against conviction.
Result
A Notice of Abandonment having been filed the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
12 December 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
R (CA379/2018) v R [2019] NZCA 255 [26 June 2019]
Case name
Jennifer Elainena Castles v The Queen
Case number
SC 68/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring a pre-trial appeal
Result
A The application for leave to bring a pre-trial appeal is dismissed.
B We make an order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceeding (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or on any other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest is permitted.
16 August 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
JENNIFER ELAINENA CASTLES v R [2019] NZSC 88 [16 August 2019] (PDF, 41 KB)
Case name
Macfarlane Dean Topia v The Queen
Case number
SC 69/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring a pre-trial appeal
Result
A The application for leave to bring a pre-trial appeal is dismissed.
B We make an order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceeding (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or on any other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest is permitted.
16 August 2019
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
JENNIFER ELAINENA CASTLES v R [2019] NZSC 88 [16 August 2019] (PDF, 41 KB)
Case name
K (SC 70/2019) v The Queen
Case number
SC 70/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in ruling evidence admissible at trial and dismissing appeal against conviction
Result
A An extension of time for leave to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
26 September 2019
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
K (SC 70/2019) v R [2019] NZSC 102 [26 September 2019] (PDF, 305 KB)
Case name
Iraia Aranga Ngamotu Burton v The Queen
Case number
SC 73/2019
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether an extension of time should be granted – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the appeal to it against conviction and sentence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in assessing the evidence, including propensity evidence and relevancy of evidence – Whether the applicant can produce new evidence before this Court – Whether there was a miscarriage of justice.
Result
The application for an extension of time is dismissed. 23 September 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
BURTON v R [2018] NZCA 355 [11 October 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
IRAIA ARANGA NGAMOTU BURTON v R [2019] NZSC 101 [23 September 2019] (PDF, 54 KB)
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