R v Graham Ashley Robert Palmer

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand heard the appeal in the case of The Queen v Graham Ashley Robert Palmer. The appellant, Graham Ashley Robert Palmer, sought a rehearing of his application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence on charges that included GST fraud, theft, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, forgery, and commercial fraud. Palmer had pleaded guilty to these charges on 18 December 1987, and the High Court had refused him leave to change his pleas on 30 March 1988. This Court initially dismissed Palmer's application for leave to appeal on 22 August 1989 but varied the term of imprisonment.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Palmer's right to due process was violated when he was not properly informed of his entitlement to have his application for leave to be present at a hearing determined by the Court, as required under section 393 of the Crimes Act 1961. Palmer had been refused legal aid under the Offenders Legal Aid Act 1954 and was also denied leave to be present at a hearing of his application by a single Judge of the Court. However, he was never advised, as mandated by Form No. 6 of the Criminal Appeal Rules 1946, that he could have his application for leave to be present determined by the Court. Instead, the advice given to him was misleading, suggesting that the decision had been made by the Court.

The Court found that the failure to properly inform Palmer of his rights under section 393 of the Crimes Act 1961 created an appearance of denial of due process. Consequently, it was appropriate to grant Palmer a rehearing of his application for leave to appeal. The Court directed the Registrar to set the matter down for a hearing, without expressing any view on the other matters raised or on the merits of the substantive application for leave to appeal.