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
Abraham Eparaima Kohai v The Queen
Case number
SC 42/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – s 385 Crimes Act 1961 – Miscarriage of justice – Whether the Court of Appeal should have granted an adjournment – Whether the Court of Appeal pre-determined the case – Whether relevant evidence was not properly considered by the Court of Appeal – Whether expert evidence was wrongly admitted at trial. [2014] NZCA 83 CA 101/2013
Result
Leave to appeal is granted (Kohai v R [2014] NZCA 83).
The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the conviction appeal.
16 July 2014
____________________________
Appeal dismissed.
16 April 2015
The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the conviction appeal.
16 July 2014
____________________________
Appeal dismissed.
16 April 2015
Case name
Pravin Fia Havi Prasad Kumar v The Queen
Case number
SC 44/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction for wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice through his contact with a rape complainant. [2014] NZCA 116 CA 575/2012
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
12 August 2014
12 August 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case Number
SC 44/2014
Judgment appealed from
Case name
John David Wright v The Queen
Case number
SC 46/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Sentencing Act 2002 – Whether the Court of Appeal was wrong in principle – Whether the Court of Appeal wrongly categorised the offending as within band three of Nuku v R [2012] NZCA 584, [2013] 2 NZLR 39 – Whether the Court of Appeal paid insufficient regard to the sentencing hierarchy, the principles of sentence indication and other matters.[2014] NZCA 119 CA 831/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
7 July 2014
7 July 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
JOHN DAVID WRIGHT v R [2014] NZSC 87 7 July 2014 (PDF, 50 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case Number
SC 46/2014
Case name
Philip John Woolley v The Queen
Case number
SC 54/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Resource Management Act 1991 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in upholding the applicant’s convictions for offences against s 13 of the Resource Management Act 1991 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing his appeal against sentence. [2014] NZCA 178 CA 687/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 5 August 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
G v The Queen
Case number
SC 55/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the appeal against conviction on the ground that the jury’s verdict was unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence.[2013] NZCA 222 CA 663/2012
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 22 July 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
G (SC55/2014) v R [2014] NZSC 95 [22 July 2014] (PDF, 49 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Paul Andrew Gottermeyer v The Queen
Case number
SC 62/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Sentencing Act 2002, s 104 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that mental health issues do not prevent s 104(1)(e) being engaged.[2014] NZCA 205 CA 739/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
19 August 2014
19 August 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
judgment appealed from
not available online
Case name
Colin Geoffrey Hayball v The Queen
Case number
SC 63/2014
Summary
Criminal appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal and/or the trial Judge acted impartially – Whether the verdict could reasonably have been supported on the evidence – Whether the sentence was unreasonable.[2014] NZCA 237 CA 658/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 18 September 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
R v The Queen
Case number
SC 67/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – s 385 Crimes Act 1961 – Whether the verdicts of the jury are unsafe by virtue of the circumstances in which they were delivered by the jury – Whether there has been a miscarriage of justice.[2014] NZCA 239 CA 282/2103
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
22 December 2014
22 December 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
R v R [2014] NZSC 194 22 December 2014 (PDF, 92 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Rhys Michael Cullen v The Queen
Case number
SC 68/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the actions and state of mind of an employee authorised by s 19 of the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2004 to enter into transactions on behalf of a license holder are attributable to the licence holder – Whether the acts of an employee whose normal duties include assistance in dismantling cars are attributable to the employer as acts helping to dispose of property within the scope of s 246 of the Crimes Act 1961. [2014] NZCA 325 CA 769/2013.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is granted.
The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss Mr Cullen’s appeal.
22 October 2014
__________________
Appeal dismissed.
29 May 2015
The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss Mr Cullen’s appeal.
22 October 2014
__________________
Appeal dismissed.
29 May 2015
Transcripts
- Hearing date 10 March 2015 (PDF, 371 KB)
Media Releases
- MR [2015] NZSC 73 (PDF, 252 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
CULLEN v R [2015] NZSC 73 [29 May 2015] (PDF, 162 KB)
Case name
KW v The Queen
Case number
SC 71/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to deal with a number of grounds of appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in not allowing vital evidence to be provided to the Court.[2014] NZCA 241 CA 526/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
10 September 2014
10 September 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Not publicly available
Judgment appealed from
not electronically available
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