R v Weston - [2022] NZHC 625

NOTE: PUBLICATION OF NAMES OF DEFENDANT ‘X’

PROHIBITED BY S 139 OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1985.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA ROHE

CRI-2021-085-149

[2022] NZHC 625

THE QUEEN

v

SHAYDE CAROLYN WESTON BREEZE HUNT-WESTON

X

LOUISE HUME TAIN TARARO

Hearing: 30 March 2022

Counsel:

S C Carter for Crown

R M Lithgow QC and P J Knowsley for Weston V Nisbet and G Fairbrother for Hunt-Weston

A Shaw and L Ord for X S Robinson for Hume No appearance for Tararo

Judgment:

30 March 2022

JUDGMENT OF CHURCHMAN J

Introduction

[1] Five defendants are facing charges arising from the violent death of Rau Tongia in December 2020. The relevant defendants and charges are:

R v WESTON & ORS [2022] NZHC 625 [30 March 2022]

(a)Shayde Weston is charged with murder;1

(b)Breeze Hunt-Weston is charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous-bodily harm and murder (as a party);2

(c)X is charged with murder (as a party);3

(d)Louise Hume is charged with murder (as a party);4 and

(e)Tain Tararo is charged with accessory after the fact to murder.5

[2] The joint trial is currently scheduled for 2 May 2022. The issue before the Court today is an application by the Crown for an adjournment of that trial date, to allow them to receive and process a mutual assistance request pursuant to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992, which is unlikely to be finalised until late 2022. As such it cannot be provided prior to the trial date. The next available date which is suitable has been identified by the registry as 1 May 2023. Some of the defendants oppose this application as they are currently remanded in custody and would remain so until their trial date barring any successful further bail applications.

Factual background

[3] The alleged offending occurred on or around 20 December 2020. The factual scheme of the alleged offending need not be traversed in detail for the current application, other than to note that the charges are serious, and relate to the death of Mr Rau Tongia.

[4] In these proceedings there has been disclosure of a considerable amount of material – to date there have been 11 disclosure packages comprising approximately a total of 6,777 pages of documents, as well as two hard drives of interception and phone data. Disclosure continues pursuant to the Criminal Disclosure Act 2008.

1      Crimes Act 1961, s 167.
2      Crimes Act 1961, ss 188(1), 167, and 66.
3      Crimes Act 1961, ss 167 and 66.
4      Crimes Act 1961, ss 167 and 66.
5      Crimes Act 1961, s 176.

[5] In a trial call over memorandum of 5 November 2021, the Crown noted that it was processing an extensive mutual assistance request, which at that point was not able to be finalised until 2022. This was noted in the minute following the trial call over, issued by France J, dated 25 November 2021.

[6] The Crown has…

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 R v Weston

Details

AGLC: R v Weston [2022] NZHC 625
Case: [2022] NZHC 625
Decision Date: 30 March 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In this case, the defendants are facing charges arising from the violent death of Rau Tongia in December 2020. Shayde Weston is charged with murder, Breeze Hunt-Weston with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and murder (as a party), X with murder (as a party), Louise Hume with murder (as a party), and Tain Tararo with accessory after the fact to murder. The Crown applied for an adjournment of the trial date, to allow them to receive and process a mutual assistance request, which is unlikely to be finalised until late 2022. The Crown submitted that the request is likely to reveal relevant evidence, particularly in relation to Facebook messages exchanged between the defendants around the period of the alleged offending. The defendants opposed the application, with Ms Hume arguing that a further delay to trial would be unconscionable, and Ms Weston arguing that the Crown’s mutual assistance application is akin to a ‘fishing-expedition’ or a ‘drift-netting’ exercise.

The court considered whether the Crown’s request for mutual assistance was justified, and whether an adjournment for a period of roughly 12 months would be considered to be ‘undue delay’ pursuant to s 25(b) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The court found that the Crown was without fault in making the request, and that the delay was not wholly unjustifiable on a purely temporal view. However, the court noted that there is a rational basis for the information sought and it is potentially relevant to issues that will arise in the trial. The court concluded that an adjournment was justified, and that it was necessary to try and balance the interests of the defendants that will be adversely affected by that delay.

The court granted the adjournment of the trial until 1 May 2023, and directed the Crown to provide the defence with such information as may be obtained from the mutual assistance request no later than 20 December 2022. The court noted that if the evidence is made available only a short time after that date and is of such a nature that there is no significant prejudice to the defendants in amending that date, then the Crown will be able to apply to vary that date.

Orders