R v Williams CA372/05

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand was called upon to consider an application for leave to appeal and the subsequent appeal concerning the admissibility of certain evidence in a criminal trial. The appeal was brought by the Solicitor-General on behalf of the Crown against multiple respondents, including Christopher David Williams and others. The central issue before the Court was the admissibility of evidence obtained from a search conducted at Patiki Road and subsequent searches. The Court had to determine whether the evidence obtained from these searches should be excluded from the trial, following the High Court's determination to exclude evidence from the Patiki Road search.

The Court held that the evidence obtained from the Patiki Road search should indeed be excluded from the trial, in line with the High Court's determination. However, the Court ruled that evidence from the subsequent searches was admissible, provided it could be presented and understood without reference to the Patiki Road search and any other considerations not previously raised before the Court. The Court also considered the implications of publishing the judgment and any part of the proceedings in the news media or on the internet, ultimately deciding that such publication should be prohibited until the final disposition of the trial. The Court, however, permitted publication in law reports or law digests.

The Court of Appeal allowed the application for leave to appeal and confirmed the exclusion of evidence from the Patiki Road search, while permitting the subsequent search evidence subject to the specified conditions. The judgment's publication was restricted to prevent any prejudicial impact on the trial proceedings. The final reasons for the judgment would be provided as soon as practicable, pending the return of a Court member from overseas.