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.
3 July 2026
Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026) – Cases where leave granted (PDF, 88 KB)
Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 127 KB)
All years
Case name
Arshad Mahmodd Chatha v The Queen
Case number
SC 58/2006
Summary
Criminal – appeal against pre-trial ruling in High Court – whether change of venue necessary for applicant to have fair and impartial trial – whether High Court Judge erred in dismissing s 344A Crimes Act 1961 application for exclusion of evidence obtained pursuant to search warrant – further disclosure and discovery sought – alleged corruption of prosecution witnesses in New Zealand and overseas – challenge to bail condition preventing applicant from leaving New Zealand to “investigate matters relevant to the preparation of his defence” – whether undue delays in investigation and prosecution warranting discharge.CRI 2004 054 4551 18 July 2006
Result
Notice of Abandonment being lodged, the application is deemed to be dismissed.
11 September 2006
11 September 2006
Case name
Frank Louis Miessen v The Queen
Case number
SC 59/2006
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction for threatening to kill – former police officer threatening to kill the Prime Minister – whether verdict unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence – whether Crown counsel’s opening statement improper – whether counsel error in failing to call evidence or put substantial defence – admissibility of evidence – whether defendant detained by police – whether police gave defendant adequate Bill of Rights advice and caution. CA 222/05 6 July 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
26 September 2006
26 September 2006
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MIESSEN V R SC 59/2006 [26 September 2006] (PDF, 15 KB)
Case name
Yi Hua Jiao and others v Ivan Barge
Case number
SC 61/2006
Summary
Civil appeal – dispute concerning sale and purchase of commercial property – appellant found to have committed tort of inducing breach of contract and tort of an unlawful means conspiracy – whether errors of fact and/or law were made by the Court of Appeal with respect to the validity of a sale and purchase agreement.CA 236/05 19 July 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. Costs t0 Respondent of $2,500. Application for leave to adduce further evidence is dismissed.
2 October 2006
2 October 2006
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Myles James de Montalk v The Queen
Case number
SC 71/2006
Summary
Criminal – application for leave to appeal out of time – whether Court of Appeal’s alleged refusal to disclose evidence was tainted by racial, religious, or ethnical bias – whether Court of Appeal thereby in breach of New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, s 25(a).CA 11/04 27 June 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
18 October 2006
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Michael Frank Templeton v The Queen
Case number
SC 73/2006
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction and sentence – party to firearms offences – counsel incompetence – whether trial counsel misled or pressured applicant into not giving evidence – whether applicant fit to stand trial – whether sentence manifestly excessive. CA 460/05 6 July 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
16 February 2007
16 February 2007
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
TEMPLETON v R SC 73/2006 [16 February 2007] (PDF, 15 KB)
Case name
Geoffrey Paul Affleck v The Queen
Case number
SC 78/2006
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction – trial conducted on basis that applicant’s wife was asleep during alleged sexual offending against daughter’s friend – wife present in Court but did not give evidence – wife gave evidence to Court of Appeal that she was awake and witnessed no offending – whether Court of Appeal erred in finding it “inconceivable” that such crucial evidence would not have been communicated to, or would have been ignored by, counsel – whether Court of Appeal erred in rejecting evidence as honest but “implausible” and in refusing to order a re-trial. CA 446/05 14 September 2006
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
4 December 2006
4 December 2006
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Richard Roberts v The Queen
Case number
SC 79/2006
Summary
Criminal appeal – appeal against conviction – whether failure by trial counsel to call evidence from applicant gave rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice – whether failure by appellate counsel to raise the above failure by trial counsel as a point of appeal gave rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice – whether the Supreme Court should entertain these grounds of appeal given they were not raised in the Court of Appeal – whether the Supreme Court should receive fresh evidence concerning these grounds of appeal. CA 446/05 14 September 2006
Result
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
7 December 2006
7 December 2006
Case name
Ross Ferguson Burns v The Queen
Case number
SC 81/2006
Summary
Criminal appeal – appeal against conviction – appellant convicted of indecent assault but acquitted of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection – whether there is an inconsistency between the verdicts such as to give rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice – whether admission of a child complainant’s evidence that altered in the course of successive evidential interviews gives rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice. CA 55/06 12 June 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
18 December 2006
18 December 2006
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Wayne Peter Hitchings v The Queen
Case number
SC 98/2006
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction – whether material acquired by the Crown was evidence “going to rebut notified alibi defences and therefore not disclosable” or whether it was material that would assist the defence and therefore disclosable as of right – whether failure to disclose the evidence prejudiced the defence preparation for trial – whether Court of Appeal erred in finding that applicant would have had difficulty presenting two alibi defences, when the underlying argument was that the applicant was at home at the relevant time – whether evidence was inconsistent with this defence – whether trial was unfair. CA 519/05 27 November 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 9 March 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
HITCHINGS v R SC 98/2006 [9 March 2007] (PDF, 19 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Joseph Coleman v The Queen
Case number
SC 3/2005
Summary
Criminal Appeal against conviction for murder - whether otherwise inadmissible hearsay evidence became admissible due to counsels' consent. CA180/04 15 December 2004
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
23 March 2005
23 March 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
V R SC SC 3/2005 [23 March 2005] (PDF, 14 KB)
Judgment appealed from
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