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
Ronald Peter Rosenberg v The Queen
Case number
SC 39/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the sentencing Judge properly considered the amends made by the applicant since conviction, whether a reparation order of $400,000 was justified and whether there was a significant inconsistency between the sentence of the applicant and the co-offender. [2015] NZCA 97 CA 345/2014
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 20 July 2015.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
P v The Queen
Case number
SC 42/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the conduct of the trial prosecutor did not amount to a miscarriage of justice[2015] NZCA 96 CA 672/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
24 June 2015
24 June 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
P v The Queen [2015] NZSC 90 24 June 2015 (PDF, 82 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Phillip Wiki Taha v The Queen
Case number
SC 43/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether new evidence not led at trial is “ fresh” and cogent.[2015] NZCA 107 CA 405/2014
Result
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
16 March 2016
16 March 2016
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Mohammed Munif Sahib v The Queen
Case number
SC 49/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether propensity evidence was correctly admitted – Whether s 44 of the Evidence Act 2006 was applied correctly by the trial judge.[2015] NZCA 112 CA 252/2014
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
20 July 2015
20 July 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Richard Lyall Genge v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections
Case number
SC 53/2015
Summary
Criminal appeal – whether the Court of Appeal erred dismissing the applicant’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to decline his application for habeas corpus.[2015] NZCA 157 CA 208/2015
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 22 June 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
John Frederick Ericson v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections
Case number
SC 55/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Habeas Corpus – Whether the Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections holds a valid warrant of commitment for imprisonment in respect of the applicant. [2015] NZCA 199 CA 241/2015
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
29 June 2015
29 June 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Tony Gordon Best v The Queen
Case number
SC 57/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 44 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in categorising the evidence excluded in the District Court as sexual experience evidence pursuant to s 44 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in ruling that the evidence was inadmissible pursuant to that section – Whether even if properly excluded under s 44 the defence should have been permitted to elicit that the complainant had previously made a rape allegation. [2015] NZCA 159 CA 254/2014
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted.
B The approved ground is whether the applicant’s counsel should have been permitted to cross-examine the complainant as to her prior rape complaint and lead evidence to the effect that it was false.
3 November 2015
___________________
The appeal is dismissed.
8 September 2016
B The approved ground is whether the applicant’s counsel should have been permitted to cross-examine the complainant as to her prior rape complaint and lead evidence to the effect that it was false.
3 November 2015
___________________
The appeal is dismissed.
8 September 2016
Media Releases
- MR [2016] NZSC 122 (PDF, 250 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
TONY GORDON BEST v R [2015] NZSC 167 [3 November 2015] (PDF, 111 KB)
Substantive judgment
TONY GORDON BEST v R [2016] NZSC 122 [8 September 2016] (PDF, 434 KB)
Case name
D v The Queen
Case number
SC 60/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining to admit expert evidence on appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that there was no miscarriage of justice due to a failure to give a reliability warning under s 122(e) – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the trial Judge’s propensity direction to the jury was adequate.[2015] NZCA 171 CA 345/2014
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
31 July 2015
31 July 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
D (SC 60/2015) v R [2015] NZSC 119 31 July 2015 (PDF, 93 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Justin Ames Johnston v The Queen
Case number
SC 61/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether propensity evidence was correctly admitted at trial – whether there was sufficient evidence to justify the jury’ s conclusion on intention – whether acts and omissions were sufficiently proximate to constitute an attempt. [2015] NZCA 162 CA 58/2014[2012] NZCA 559 CA 262/2012
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is granted (Johnston v R [2015] NZCA 162).
B The approved question is whether the trial Judge was wrong to conclude that the actions of the applicant on the night of the alleged offending were sufficiently proximate to constitute the actus reus of an attempt.
15 October 2015
____________________
The appeal is dismissed.
6 July 2016
B The approved question is whether the trial Judge was wrong to conclude that the actions of the applicant on the night of the alleged offending were sufficiently proximate to constitute the actus reus of an attempt.
15 October 2015
____________________
The appeal is dismissed.
6 July 2016
Media Releases
- MR [2016] NZSC 83 (PDF, 244 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
JUSTIN AMES JOHNSTON v R [2016] NZSC 83 [6 July 2016] (PDF, 210 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Elias CJ, William Young, Glazebrook, Arnold, O’Regan JJ
Case name
Sione Fehoko Makanesi v The Queen
Case number
SC 63/2015
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the applicant’s lawyer failed to follow instructions – Whether the applicant’s lawyer should also have appealed against conviction.[2015] NZCA 134 CA 326/2014
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 21 September 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
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