Nelson Courthouse To Reopen To Public After Seismic Upgrade
'The health and safety of all users of the courthouse remains a priority. Engineers confirm the building can be reoccupied while further seismic assessment is undertaken,' Mr Loo says. More >>
Chief Victims Advisor To Government: Support Available For Victims During Lockdown
Friday, 20 August 2021, 6:48 pm | Ministry of Justice
New Zealand's Chief Victims Advisor to Government, Dr Kim McGregor, wants victims and survivors of family violence and sexual violence to know that the Police and social services are there to help them even through this period of lockdown. 'My ... More >>
Tackling Sexual Violence: National Strategy Design, Execution Will Be Key
Thursday, 8 July 2021, 11:50 am | Ministry of Justice
Leading family violence and sexual violence sector leaders say the work underway to develop a National Strategy and Action Plans must be well designed and executed because there is an unlikely to be a better chance to get it right. 'This national ... More >>
Scott Watson's Convictions To Be Referred To Court Of Appeal
Friday, 26 June 2020, 4:35 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson's convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the ... More >>
Revised Practice Notes And Protocols To Be Published For COVID-19 Alert Level 2
Friday, 8 May 2020, 5:07 pm | Ministry of Justice
In the event the Government announces an immediate or phased step-down to Alert Level 2 on Monday, the Courts will publish revised practice notes and protocols explaining what effect, if any, this will have on the way each jurisdiction will operate. These ... More >>
Statement From The Chief District Court Judge
Friday, 24 April 2020, 2:17 pm | Ministry of Justice
All divisions of the District Court, including Family Court and Youth Court, are preparing to resume as much work as possible when New Zealand's pandemic response moves to COVID-19 Alert Level 3. More >>
Operation Of The Courts Under COVID-19 Alert Level 3
Thursday, 23 April 2020, 4:52 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Prime Minister has now announced the country will move to alert level 3[1] from Tuesday 28 April. In light of this, the Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann has announced the following changes to the way New Zealand's courts will be operating: The courts ... More >>
Public Access To Courts Tightened For Safety Reasons
Thursday, 26 March 2020, 10:31 pm | Ministry of Justice
To preserve public safety and give effect to the COVID-19 Alert Level 4, District Courts and the High Court are excluding from courthouses members of the public whose attendance is not required for the business of the court that day. This takes effect ... More >>
Family Justice Reforms
Monday, 5 November 2018, 11:38 am | Ministry of Justice
There are just five days left to make submissions on the Family Justice Services Review says Panel Chair, Rosslyn Noonan. More >>
Criminal Justice Advisory Group to visit Northland
Thursday, 1 November 2018, 5:23 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Government's Safe and Effective Justice Programme Advisory Group – Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora – will visit Northland on November 5 and 6 as part of its nationwide consultation to gather information on the criminal justice system. This is the fourth ... More >>
Criminal Justice Advisory Group to visit Bay of Plenty
Thursday, 1 November 2018, 4:44 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Government's Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group – Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora – will visit the Bay of Plenty on November 5 and 6 as part of its nationwide consultation to gather information on the criminal justice system. More >>
Major crime survey reaches milestone
Thursday, 25 October 2018, 1:39 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice's new crime survey – The New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey' (NZCVS) – which started in March, has reached its target this month of interviewing 8,000 New Zealanders over the age of 15 about their experience of crime. More >>
Criminal Justice Advisory Group to visit South Auckland
Friday, 12 October 2018, 12:17 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Government's Safe and Effective Justice Programme Advisory Group – Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora – will visit South Auckland on October 15 and 16 as part of its nationwide consultation to gather information on the criminal justice system. More >>
Waitangi Tribunal finds serious Treaty breaches
Monday, 10 September 2018, 3:42 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Crown's significant breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi caused serious damage to the mana and autonomy of the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe Pōtae (the King Country), the Waitangi Tribunal has found. More >>
Submissions on 2014 Family Justice Reforms Now Open
Wednesday, 5 September 2018, 8:55 am | Ministry of Justice
The Independent Panel considering the 2014 family justice reforms wants to hear from people who have used the Family Court and related services. More >>
Considering the Family Justice System
Wednesday, 29 August 2018, 2:55 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Independent Panel evaluating the 2014 reforms to the family justice system will be launching a public submissions process from 5 September 2018. More >>
Extra support will improve Coronial Post-mortem Services
Monday, 20 August 2018, 4:30 pm | Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice has agreed new contracts for post-mortem services across New Zealand. More >>
District Court responds to high incidence of disabilities
Thursday, 16 August 2018, 12:34 pm | Ministry of Justice
The District Court is to consider adopting a different approach to young adult offenders to take account of the high incidence of neurodisabilities among those appearing in court. More >>
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In June, Fairgray's lawyer Susan Gray told the Court of Appeal that his sentence and its starting point was 'manifestly excessive'. A starting point (for example: four years' prison) is the sentence which a judge decides on before taking into account aggravating or mitigating factors that may increase or reduce a sentence. A judge uses any comparable cases to determine what that starting point is. Gray submitted 'a lack of consistency is a lack of justice' and she pointed to another case where a man who had ongoing sex with one minor and one-off sex with another was given a starting point of 2.5 years in prison. She acknowledged the pregnancy and abortion that occurred because of Fairgray's offending, and its distressing impact, but said it was wrong for the judge to attribute the second surgical intervention needed to her client. Gray also took issue with the Crown's submission that the victim was vulnerable due to her age, as she said it was inherent in the charge. The seven-year age gap between Fairgray and the complainant was at the lower end of the spectrum, she said. 'There was no breach of trust.' Prosecutor Pip McNabb said the real issue before the court was whether the four-year starting point was available to Judge Thomas. She told the Justices the victim's vulnerability was about much more than just her age and included her autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) diagnosis. 'At the lowest end of that seven-year age gap we have a 13-year-old girl, so she had just become a teenager.' At the other end of the spectrum, she said, was an educated 20-year-old male. She did not agree that Fairgray's own diagnoses of autism and ADHD tempered the difference between the pair. His offending was 'calculated and careful', she said, and he actively pursued the girl despite knowing her age. McNabb submitted that while the second surgery could not be directly attributed to the appellant, it was his actions of having unprotected sex with her that led to it. The Crown maintained that there were some efforts by him to manipulate the victim. Luca Fairgray pictured when he testified in the Auckland District Court earlier this year. The three appeal judges hearing the case agreed with Fairgray's lawyer that the starting point taken by the sentencing judge was too high. In its decision, released by Justice Rachel Dunningham this afternoon, the appeal court said there were clearly adverse effects on the victim through having to endure a termination of her pregnancy. 'However, there was no abuse of trust, nor was there a significant age gap (comparatively speaking) between the offender and the victim. There were also no other aggravating features present such as grooming, or abusive or demeaning behaviour. This assessment points to a lower starting point than was adopted in R v H [the case the sentencing judge used as a comparison] and we would adopt three and a half years,' she said. After taking that starting point, the Court of Appeal then added on six months to Fairgray's jail term due to the fact his offending followed crimes of a similar nature (the same uplift imposed by Judge Evangelos Thomas at his sentencing). As a result, the Court of Appeal cut Fairgray's final sentence to four years' jail. Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
