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.
24 June 2024
Case information summary 2024 (as at 21 June 2024) – Cases where leave granted (121 KB)
Case information summary 2024 (as at 21 June 2024) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 125 KB)
All years
Case name
S v The Queen
Case number
SC 36/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Miscarriage of justice – Whether the Court of Appeal was right to dismiss the appeal on the mode of trial point.
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is granted (S (CA377/2017) v R [2018] NZCA 101).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was right to dismiss the appeal on the mode of trial point.
30 July 2018
___________________
The appeal is dismissed.
20 December 2018
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was right to dismiss the appeal on the mode of trial point.
30 July 2018
___________________
The appeal is dismissed.
20 December 2018
Transcripts
- Hearing date 16 October 2018 (PDF, 232 KB)
Media Releases
- MR [2018] NZSC 124 (PDF, 288 KB)
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave granted
S (SC 148/2016) v R [2017] NZSC 43 [4 April 2017] (PDF, 89 KB)
Substantive judgment
S (SC 36/2018) v R [2018] NZSC 124 [20 December 2018] (PDF, 450 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
S (SC 36/2018) v R [2018] NZSC 64 [30 July 2018] (PDF, 186 KB)
Case name
Ee Kuoh Lau v The Queen
Case number
SC 38/2018
Result
A Notice of abandonment having been lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed
31 May 2018
31 May 2018
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Case name
D v The Queen
Case number
SC 39/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in partly dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction – Whether the trial Judge misdirected the jury – Whether evidence adduced at trial was unfairly prejudicial to the applicant.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 20 August 2018
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
D (SC 39/2018) v R [2018] NZSC 76 [20 August 2018] (PDF, 207 KB)
Case name
Wayne William Smith v The Queen
Case number
SC 48/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 76 – Juror misconduct – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’ s application for an order to appoint a special counsel.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
21 August 2018
21 August 2018
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Cornelius Hermanus Hendriks v The Queen
Case number
SC 53/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the failure to adduce evidence of the applicant’s lack of previous convictions at trial did not materially diminish the applicant’s prospects of an acquittal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the trial Judge’s summing-up on the standard of proof was orthodox.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 25 October 2018
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Martin Victor Lyttelton v The Queen
Case number
SC 59/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction and sentence
Result
The application for leave to appeal against both conviction and sentence
is dismissed.
16 October 2018
is dismissed.
16 October 2018
High Court decision
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Karl Teangiotau Nuku v The Queen
Case number
SC 65/2018
Summary
Civil Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining the applicant’s request for a transcript of the hearing of his appeal against conviction and sentence in that Court.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 17 October 2018
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Neil Raymond Swain v The Queen
Case number
SC 68/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Criminal Procedure Act, s 232– Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding there was no miscarriage of justice.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 9 November 2018
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Quinton Paul Winders v The Queen
Case number
SC 71/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction and sentence.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 30 October 2018
High Court decision
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Patrick Maurice O'Sullivan v The Queen
Case number
SC 77/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining the application for leave to bring a second appeal against conviction – Whether there are exceptional circumstances justifying an appeal direct from the High Court.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
7 November 2018
_____________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 7 November 2018 (O’Sullivan v R [2018] NZSC 103) is dismissed.
28 November 2018
7 November 2018
_____________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 7 November 2018 (O’Sullivan v R [2018] NZSC 103) is dismissed.
28 November 2018
High Court decision
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Recall judgment
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