Reuben v Police
[2019] NZCA 515
•24 October 2019 at 3.00 pm
| IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA |
| CA548/2018 [2019] NZCA 515 |
| BETWEEN | STEWART CLIFTON REUBEN |
| AND | NEW ZEALAND POLICE |
| Court: | Brown, Simon France and Hinton JJ |
Judgment: | 24 October 2019 at 3.00 pm |
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
____________________________________________________________________
REASONS OF THE COURT
(Given by Brown J)
Introduction
Following a Judge alone trial in the District Court at Huntly, on 9 November 2017 Mr Reuben was convicted of charges of contravening a protection order and unlawfully converting a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment.[1]
[1]Police v Reuben [2017] NZDC 25565.
He appealed against his conviction. His appeal was heard in the High Court at Hamilton on 20 March 2018. Further submissions were filed on 11 and 14 May 2018. On 26 July 2018 Toogood J delivered a judgment dismissing Mr Reuben’s appeal.[2]
[2]Reuben v Police [2018] NZHC 1870.
On 10 September 2018 Mr Reuben filed out of time an application for leave to bring a second appeal.
The history of Mr Reuben’s application
Having been adjourned on several previous occasions Mr Reuben’s application for leave was scheduled to be heard by this Court on 8 October 2019 at 3.00 pm. When by 2.55 pm he had not arrived, the Registrar of the Court endeavoured to contact him, eventually speaking to him on his mobile telephone. Mr Reuben advised that he was travelling to Auckland but was still on the motorway south of Mercer.
Because he would not reach the Auckland Hearing Centre before the Court rose at 4.00 pm, after reporting to the panel, the Registrar again telephoned Mr Reuben, advised that it was not possible for the hearing to proceed and requested that he provide a written statement explaining the reasons for his delay in coming to the hearing.
Two weeks have now elapsed. No communication has been received from Mr Reuben.
Mr Reuben’s application has a long history. It was initially allocated a hearing date for 8 November 2018. That hearing was adjourned at Mr Reuben’s request. A new date was allocated for 28 November 2018.
On 14 November 2018 Mr Reuben sought a further adjournment on medical grounds. A new date was allocated for 4 April 2019.
On 3 April 2019 Mr Reuben sought an adjournment for at least 7 days, again for medical reasons. A new date of hearing was allocated for 29 May 2019.
On 22 May 2019 Mr Reuben sought a further adjournment for at least 3 months because he was about to undergo a 9-week period of treatment. The new date of 8 October 2019 was allocated to accommodate his request.
Mr Reuben did not provide any prior notice of the fact that he would not make the scheduled time for his hearing on 8 October 2019 and no application was made for an adjournment. Having regard to the history of adjournments, the fact that his application for leave to bring a second appeal was filed over a year ago, that Mr Reuben has long ago served his sentence and that he has not provided any explanation as requested for his non-appearance at the fifth scheduled hearing, we consider that the appropriate course is to dismiss his application for leave to bring a second appeal.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
Solicitors:
Crown Law Office, Wellington