Wiki v Police - [2018] NZHC 2378

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CRI-2018-404-146

[2018] NZHC 2378

BETWEEN VICTORIA MARIGOLD MARGARET WIKI
Appellant

AND

NEW ZEALAND POLICE

Respondent

Hearing: On the papers

Judgment:

10 September 2018

JUDGMENT OF GORDON J

This judgment was delivered by me
on 10 September 2018 at 4.00 pm, pursuant to r 11.5 of the High Court Rules

Registrar/Deputy Registrar Date:

Solicitors: Crown Solicitor, Auckland Copy To: The appellant

WIKI v POLICE [2018] NZHC 2378 [10 September 2018]

Introduction

[1] On 21 August 2018, I gave a decision dismissing Ms Wiki’s appeal against conviction and sentence.1 Ms Wiki had pleaded guilty in the District Court to one charge of wilful trespass and one charge of assault on a female constable. In short, Ms Wiki had entered New World on Queen Street where she had previously been trespassed, and while being processed after her arrest, she spat on an officer’s arm.

[2] Ms Wiki has filed in this Court what purports to be a copy of a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal dated 28 August 2018 (as opposed to an application for leave to bring a second appeal).2

The application

[3] Ms Wiki has also filed an application in this Court for access to court documents dated 28 August 2018. She seeks a transcript of the hearing of her appeal on 21 August 2018. She says a transcript of submissions is requested.

[4] Ms Wiki says that the reason she wants the transcript is because she cannot hear and is deaf. She says the transcript will be needed for the Court of Appeal where she intends to lodge an appeal. Ms Wiki says, overall, she seeks a re-hearing in the District Court.

Relevant legal principles

[5] Requests for access to court documents fall under the Senior Courts (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017 (the Rules).

[6] As Ms Wiki was a party to this appeal, she has a general right to search, inspect and copy any part of the court file or any document relating to the proceeding.3

1      Wiki v New Zealand Police [2018] NZHC 2156.
2      See Criminal Procedure Act 2011, ss 239(1) and 255(1).
3      Senior Courts (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017, r 9(4).

[7] However, the transcript of Ms Wiki’s appeal does not fall within the definition of a document, in the context of an appeal, or within the definition of the court file.4 That is because there is at present no written transcript of the appeal hearing in this Court. The only resource available is the electronic recording of the hearing.

[8] Therefore, Ms Wiki does not have a right to access the transcript. Rule 3(3) provides that the Rules do not require a Registrar or any other person to prepare a document that is not in existence at the time a person asks to access it.

[9] The Court of Appeal stated in Mackenzie v Attorney-General, “[b]ecause there is time…

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 Wiki v Police

Details

AGLC: Wiki v Police [2018] NZHC 2378
Case: [2018] NZHC 2378
Decision Date: 10 September 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Wiki v Police, Victoria Wiki appealed the dismissal of her appeal against conviction and sentence. Wiki had pleaded guilty to wilful trespass and assaulting a police officer. The High Court dismissed her appeal on 21 August 2018. Wiki filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal and also applied for access to the transcript of her appeal hearing, citing her deafness as the reason. The court had to decide if Wiki had the right to access the transcript and if the transcript was necessary for a potential appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The court considered the relevant legal principles under the Senior Courts (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017, which allow parties to access court documents. However, the court noted that the transcript of Wiki's appeal was not in existence at the time of her request, and preparing a transcript involved time and expense. The court also considered the limited resources available for such transcription and the high threshold for a second appeal under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. The court concluded that Wiki's prospects of success on appeal were extremely low, as she had pleaded guilty and accepted the facts of the case. The court also noted that Wiki had not raised any issues during the appeal hearing that would require a transcript.

The High Court refused Wiki's application for access to the transcript, finding that there was no good reason in the interests of justice for granting her access. The court held that the transcript was not necessary for Wiki's potential appeal to the Court of Appeal, given her low prospects of success and the absence of any significant issues raised during the appeal hearing. The court also noted that Wiki's earlier letter to the District Court suggested that her guilty plea was a considered one.

Orders