Wiki v Police - [2012] NZHC 2188

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WHANGAREI REGISTRY

CRI-2012-488-28 [2012] NZHC 2188

WILLIAM JASON WIKI
Appellant

v

NEW ZEALAND POLICE
Respondent

Hearing: 12 July 2012

Further memoranda
filed: 30 July 2012 and 24 August 2012

Appearances: Appellant in person (assisted by his mother, Mrs Wiki, as McKenzie
Friend)
TR Nicholls for Respondent

Judgment: 30 August 2012

JUDGMENT OF TOOGOOD J

This judgment was delivered by me on 30 August 2012 at 9:30 am
Pursuant to Rule 11.5 High Court Rules

Registrar/Deputy Registrar

W Wiki, C/- 38 Johnston Road, Kawakawa, Northland
TR Nicholls, Crown Solicitor, Whangarei: crown@mwis.co.nz

WIKI V NEW ZEALAND POLICE HC WHA CRI-2012-488-28 [30 August 2012]

Introduction

[1] William James Wiki Junior has appealed against his conviction by Judge McDonald in the District Court at Kaikohe, on 12 March 2012, on one charge of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm to a Police officer and one charge of escaping from lawful custody, both offences having been committed on
20 August 2011.

[2] Mr Wiki also appeals against a sentence of 150 hours community work and nine months’ supervision imposed by the Judge on 24 April 2012. Pending the hearing of the appeals, the Probation Service has not required Mr Wiki to undertake the community work ordered by the Court.

[3] The appeals were originally set down for hearing on 5 June 2012 but subsequently adjourned by Lang J. After hearing submissions from Mrs Wiki on behalf of the appellant and from the respondent on 12 July 2012, I indicated that I would not issue judgment pending further inquiries which I asked counsel for the respondent, Mr Nicholls, to undertake. Mr Nicholls has now reported to me. By a Minute dated 14 August 2012, I gave Mr Wiki until 24 August 2012 to respond to the matters referred to in Mr Nicholls’s memorandum. In a letter dated 24 August 2012, Mr Wiki largely repeats the jurisdictional basis upon which the District Court’s decision was challenged in his earlier written submissions and the submissions made by Mrs Wiki at the hearing.

The findings of the District Court judge

[4] The relevant findings of the District Court Judge on the charge of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm are contained in the following passages from the judgment:

[8] Sergeant Row was, on 20 August 2011, the officer in charge of the rural patrol group based in Kaikohe. Its primary role was and is traffic enforcement.

[9] On that evening Sergeant Row was working in Kawakawa by himself. He was in a full police uniform, wearing a high viz vest with the

words “Police” across it. He was driving a marked police patrol car. He set
up a check point on State Highway One in central Kawakawa, approximately
20m west of the Hunderwasser toilets. His aim was to stop vehicles to check drivers for alcohol consumption, to see if the driver had a driver’s licence and, if they did not, if the driver was driving within the terms of that licence. I…

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 [2012] NZHC 2188
Case: [2012] NZHC 2188
Decision Date: 30 August 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

William James Wiki Junior appealed against his conviction and sentence by Judge McDonald in the District Court at Kaikohe. Wiki was convicted of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm to a Police officer and escaping from lawful custody. Wiki also appealed against a sentence of 150 hours community work and nine months’ supervision imposed by the Judge. The appeals were heard after being adjourned by Lang J. The court considered submissions from Mrs Wiki on behalf of the appellant and from the respondent, TR Nicholls, on 12 July 2012. The court indicated that it would not issue judgment pending further inquiries which were to be undertaken by the respondent. The court directed the Crown Solicitor at Whangarei to make inquiries of the Police and the Far North District Council (Kawakawa Township) as to the availability of relevant CCTV footage recorded on 20 August 2011 between 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm. The court found that the CCTV footage would not have materially assisted the appellant on appeal, even if it was available and ruled admissible on the appeal as fresh evidence. The court found that the District Court had jurisdiction to deal with the charges at issue and the appeals could not be sustained on the submitted grounds. The convictions were justified on the evidence as found by the Judge.

The court dismissed the appeals against conviction and sentence.

Orders