Klyn v Police - [2015] NZHC 1128

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

CRI-2014-404-000299 [2015] NZHC 1128

BETWEEN
PATRICIA KLYN

Appellant

AND

NEW ZEALAND POLICE Respondent

Hearing: 4 May 2015

Appearances:

J J Corby for Appellant
L M Mills for Respondent

Judgment:

25 May 2015

JUDGMENT OF COURTNEY J [Appeal against conviction]

This judgment was delivered by Justice Courtney on 25 May 2015 at 4.30 pm
pursuant to R 11.5 of the High Court Rules

Registrar / Deputy Registrar

Date..................................

KLYN v NZ POLICE [2015] NZHC 1128 [25 May 2015]

Introduction

[1] Patricia Klyn seeks leave to appeal out of time against her 2008 convictions for shoplifting1 and common assault2. The offending occurred in May 2007 and the convictions were entered following a guilty plea in January 2008. She asserts that when she entered the guilty plea she was unaware that she had a defence to either or both of the charges.

[2] The respondent opposes leave being granted and maintains that, in any event, there is no basis on which to bring the appeal.

Application for leave to bring appeal out of time

[3] Ms Klyn has a long history of mental illness and has been under the care of mental health services on and off since 2003, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2007, after the subject offending, she was admitted to a psychiatric unit. She had follow-up care from a community health team in 2008. She was admitted to hospital again in 2011, assessed twice by crisis staff in 2012 and discharged to her general practitioner in early 2013 due to a lack of engagement with mental health services.

[4] In early 2014 Ms Klyn was found not guilty on a number of charges unrelated to the subject offending on the grounds of insanity. The medical reports obtained at that point triggered consideration as to the safety of four previous convictions. Two were quashed on the grounds of procedural unfairness and doubts over her fitness to plead at the time. That left the convictions for shoplifting and assault that are the subject of the present appeal.

[5] In these circumstances I am satisfied that there is a reasonable explanation for an appeal not having been advanced earlier and leave is granted to bring the appeal.

Appeal

Circumstances of the offending and guilty plea

1 Crimes Act 1961, s 219.
2 Summary Offences Act 1981, s 9.

[6] The offending is described in the summary of facts to which Ms Klyn pleaded guilty. Both offences occurred at a veterinary clinic to which Ms Klyn had taken her pet rabbit for treatment. She was unhappy about the way the rabbit had been treated and became abusive towards the vet. She left the premises when the vet called the Police but, before the Police arrived, returned and demanded a refund of the cost of the rabbit’s treatment.

[7] The vet refused a refund and Ms Klyn refused to leave. She sat down and continued to abuse the vet. Then she got up, took two…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Klyn v Police

Details

AGLC: Klyn v Police [2015] NZHC 1128
Case: [2015] NZHC 1128
Decision Date: 25 May 2015

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Patricia Klyn appealed against her 2008 convictions for shoplifting and common assault. The offending took place in May 2007, and the convictions were entered following a guilty plea in January 2008. Ms Klyn claims that she was unaware of a defence to either charge when she entered her plea. The Police opposed the appeal, arguing that there was no basis for it. Ms Klyn has a history of mental illness and had been under mental health care since 2003. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was admitted to a psychiatric unit in 2007. She was also admitted to hospital again in 2011 and was discharged in early 2013. Ms Klyn was found not guilty on unrelated charges in 2014 on the grounds of insanity, which led to consideration of the safety of her previous convictions. Two convictions were quashed, leaving the convictions for shoplifting and assault, which are the subject of the current appeal.

The court considered the principles relevant to an appeal against conviction following a guilty plea. It is only in exceptional circumstances that such an appeal will succeed; the appellant must show that a miscarriage of justice will result if the conviction is not overturned. The court also considered whether Ms Klyn had a defence to the charges. Ms Klyn claimed a defence to the shoplifting charge on the basis of claim of right, but the court found that there was no defence to the assault charge. The court found that there was an evidential foundation for a claim of right defence in relation to the shoplifting charge, but dismissed the appeal against conviction for assault. The appeal against conviction for shoplifting was allowed, and the conviction was quashed. No order for a retrial was made.

Orders