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
Bernard John Pavitt v The Queen
Case number
SC 7/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal against conviction for aggravated robbery - whether colour of right - whether evidence inadmissable as unfairly obtained - burden of proof - whether misdirection by trial judge in telling jury that two others involved in the offending had also been charged. CA 257/04 21 October 2004
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
10 May 2005
10 May 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
PAVITT V R SC 7/2005 [10 May 2005] (PDF, 15 KB)
Case name
Todd O'Hara v The Queen
Case number
SC 15/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal against conviction - admissibility of evidence of partial or qualified identification of accused from identification parade - whether misdirection by trial judge in suggesting positive identification had been made. CA 368/04 14 March 2004
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
7 July 2005
7 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
O'HARA V R SC 15/2005 [7 July 2005] (PDF, 13 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Case name
Krishan Jaichandre Kanhai v The Queen
Case number
SC 20/2005
Summary
Leapfrog criminal appeal against conviction - alleged radical error of counsel in not adducing evidence of good character giving rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice - leave application made out of time - application for extension of time. CA 55/04 15 December 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
11 May 2005
11 May 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
KANHAI V R SC 20/2005 [11 May 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Graham Thomas Rowe v The Queen
Case number
SC 22/2005
Summary
Appeal against conviction for offensive behaviour under s 4(1)(a) of the Summary Offences Act 1981 - whether the appellant's behaviour was sufficiently observable to amount to offensive behaviour - whether the court's finding was possible only with recourse to inadmissible prior conduct evidence - whether the absence of a legitimate purpose may be taken into account in determining whether behaviour is offensive - whether a police officer is a competent complainant in a prosecution for offensive behaviour. CA 374/04 18 April 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 23 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
ROWE V R SC SC 22/2005 [23 June 2005] (PDF, 15 KB)
Case name
Ramon Dirk Johannes de Mey v The Queen
Case number
SC 24/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal upholding conviction for common assault - whether there was a miscarriage of justice resulting from insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. CA 169/04 17 December 2004CA 44/05 28 April 2005
Result
Leave to appeal refused
20 May 2005
20 May 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DE MEY V R SC 24/2005 [20 May 2005] (PDF, 15 KB)
Court of Appeal decision
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Dr C v Complaints Assessment Committee
Case number
SC 27/2005
Summary
Summary Civil appeal - privilege - medical practitioners - whether sections 32 and 35 of the Evidence Amendment Act (No 2) 1980 apply to proceedings before the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal under the Medical Practitioners Act 1995 - whether waiver of privilege. CA 198/04 19 April 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted. Costs to the appellant of $3000 plus disbursements to be fixed by the Registrar in absence of agreement.
22 August 2005
_________________________
A. The appeal is allowed to the extent set out in order C only.
B. The setting aside of the order made in the High Court is affirmed.
C. C's application for disclosure is referred back to the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal for re-hearing in the light of the directions given in the reasons of the majority judgment. The directions given by the Court of Appeal are set aside.
The appellant must pay the costs of the Complaints Assessment Committee in the Court of Appeal as ordered in that Court. In this Court the respondent must pay the appellant's costs fixed at $10,000 together with disbursements to be fixed if necessary by the Registrar.
29 June 2006
22 August 2005
_________________________
A. The appeal is allowed to the extent set out in order C only.
B. The setting aside of the order made in the High Court is affirmed.
C. C's application for disclosure is referred back to the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal for re-hearing in the light of the directions given in the reasons of the majority judgment. The directions given by the Court of Appeal are set aside.
The appellant must pay the costs of the Complaints Assessment Committee in the Court of Appeal as ordered in that Court. In this Court the respondent must pay the appellant's costs fixed at $10,000 together with disbursements to be fixed if necessary by the Registrar.
29 June 2006
Transcripts
- Hearing date 17 August 2005 SC 27/2005 (PDF, 86 KB)
- Hearing date 15 December 2005 SC 27/2005 (PDF, 216 KB)
Media Releases
- MR [2006] NZSC 48 (PDF, 90 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Case name
McGrath & Forde v The Queen
Case number
SC 30/2005
Summary
Whether the applicant should be permitted to make an application for leave for direct appeal from the High Court to the Supreme Court out of time - whether the Court of Appeal wrongly held in an application for leave to appeal similar to that of the applicant that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal under s 379A(1)(aa) of the Crimes Act 1961 because, in substance, the application did not involve a challenge to the admissibility of evidence - whether the High Court judge erred in ruling certain evidence admissible despite the applicant's submission that the quality of the evidence had been affected by the way in which it was obtained - whether the High Court judge erred in refusing to grant severance and in determining the degree of evidence as to collusion or contamination required before severance will be granted. CRI 2004 009 002464, 11 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
27 July 2005
27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
M and F V R SC 30 & 32/2005 [27 July 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Case name
Ramon Dirk Johannes de Mey v The Queen
Case number
SC 31/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal upholding conviction for common assault - whether there was a miscarriage of justice resulting from insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. CA 169/04 17 December 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
29 June 2005
29 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DE MEY V R SC SC 31/2005 [29 June 2005] (PDF, 14 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
M & F v The Queen
Case number
SC 32/2005
Summary
Whether the applicant should be permitted to make an application for leave for direct appeal from the High Court to the Supreme Court out of time - whether the Court of Appeal wrongly held in an application for leave to appeal similar to that of the applicant that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal under s 379A (1)(aa) of the Crimes Act 1961 because, in substance, the application did not involve a challenge to the admissibility of evidence - whether the High Court judge erred in ruling certain evidence admissible despite the applicant's submission that the quality of the evidence had been affected by the way in which it was obtained - whether the High Court judge erred in refusing to grant severance and in determining the degree of evidence as to collusion or contamination required before severance will be granted. CRI 2003 009 012476, 11 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
27 July 2005
27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
M and F V R SC 30 & 32/2005 [27 July 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Case name
David Fruean v The Queen
Case number
SC 43/2005
Summary
Criminal Law - “ whether a comment by a trial judge describing portions of an out of court statement as "self-serving" during evidence, necessitates a jury direction that "the whole of a mixed out of court statement is evidence of the facts stated". CA 73/05 22 June 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 7 September 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
FRUEAN V R SC 43/2005 [7 September 2005] (PDF, 16 KB)
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