P v Police HC Auckland CRI 2006-404-231

[2006] NZHC 1308

This case has been anonymized

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

CRI 2006-404-000231

BETWEEN  P

Appellant

ANDPOLICE Respondent

Hearing:         27 October 2006

Appearances: No appearance of Appellant

AS Dowgray for Respondent

Judgment:      27 October 2006

JUDGMENT OF COOPER J

Solicitors:

Meredith Connell, Crown Solicitors, PO Box 2213, Upper Shortland Street, Auckland.

Copy to:

P  , 39 Sandwich Road, St Andrews, Hamilton

P V POLICE HC AK CRI 2006-404-000231  27 October 2006

[1]      The appellant, P  , was convicted in the District Court on two charges of assault laid under s 196 of the Crimes Act 1961.  She has not appeared when the appeal has been called today.

[2]      Ms Dowgray, for the Crown, seeks the appeal be dismissed for  want of prosecution.

[3]      Having considered the judgment of District Court Court Lee, it seems to me that it was a simple case in which there were rival accounts of an incident that occurred at Victoria Park in Auckland on 21 January this year.

[4]      For reasons which were fully explained in the judgment, the learned District Court Judge preferred the account of the complainants to the diametrically opposed account given by Ms P  .   It would have been difficult for the appellant to advance any convincing grounds of appeal having regard to the thoroughness of the judgment.

[5]      In the circumstances I do not see any reason why the appeal should not be dismissed for want of prosecution having regard to the appellant’s failure to appear. It is dismissed accordingly.