Supreme Court case information

Criminal Appeal — Application for leave to refer a question of law

A We grant leave to the Solicitor-General to refer the following questions of law (arising from Nikoloff v R [2024] NZCA 318) to this Court under s 317 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011:
Was the defect in the leave given on behalf of the Attorney-General able to be remedied or rectified by the instrument of ratification?
Was the trial at which Mr Nikoloff was convicted a nullity?
B We appoint Mr S J Shamy as counsel to assist the Court on the appeal under s 318(3)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
27 November 2024
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We answer the questions of law as follows:
(a) Was the defect in the leave given on behalf of the Attorney-General able to be remedied or rectified by the instrument of ratification?
No.
(b) Was the trial at which Mr Nikoloff was convicted a nullity?
Yes.
18 September 2025

Criminal Appeal

A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B Leave to appeal is granted in part (Jury v R [2024] NZCA 320).
C The approved questions are:
(a) whether the High Court erred by admitting the hearsay statements of Rex Maney in evidence, and if so, whether the error occasioned a miscarriage of justice; and
(b) whether the trial Judge’s failure to give a reliability direction under s 122 of the Evidence Act 2006 with respect to those statements occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
D The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
17 March 2025

Criminal Appeal

A  Leave to appeal is granted (R v Bailey [2024] NZCA 552).
B  The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to allow the appeal.
5 March 2025