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| NEWS > 02 March 2007 |
Other related articles:
National Party leader question
National Party leader, Don Brash, is questioning the integrity of the New Zealand Police, following their inquiry into Labour's 2005 election spending.
In a letter to Police Commissioner Howard Broad, which was issued on Wednesday; Dr Brash requested an apology from the police for their decision not to prosecute Labour for overspending during the election campaign.
Dr Brash says although this is not the first time he has questioned the outcome of a police investigation, he has never doubted their integrity until now. He says it is important for the public's confidence in ... Read more
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TVNZ - New Zealand
02 March 2007
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Questions follow police trial
Revelations following the not guilty verdicts in the police sex trial have some questioning the way the justice system works.
Suspended Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards, and former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum were on Thursday cleared of charges of kidnapping and indecent assault of a 16-year-old in Rotorua between November 1983 and August 1984.
The verdicts were followed by the lifting of a suppression order which had prevented the jury from knowing Shipton and Schollum are serving time for rape.
Both were convicted for the rape of a woman at Mount Maunganui in the late 1980s. She was lured to a surf club tower on the pretext of a lunch date with Shipton, but was instead handcuffed and pack raped.
Shipton is serving eight-and-a-half years and Schollum eight years. According to the New Zealand Herald, Shipton is eligible for parole in 14 months, and Schollum in one year.
As part of New Zealand's legal system, a person's previous convictions are never relevant to a jury in case it prejudices a trial's outcome.
A judge can allow a jury to learn about an accused person's previous convictions but that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
A prosecutor can ask to have those facts out in the open if for example the defence claims such a crime would be out of character.
Legal experts are divided over whether the jury should have been told that two of the defendants had already been convicted.
"If the other two convictions [Shipton, Schollum] had come in it may have affected Mr Rickard's case as well, so that's a factor any judge would have to take into account," says criminal lawyer Richard Earwaker.
However, some say juries should be privy to this information. Kevin Ryan QC argues that if previous convictions are similar to charges a defendant is facing, this should be placed before a jury.
Meanwhile, the jury in the trial is being urged to have faith in their judgement.
Victoria University Law School associate professor Elisabeth McDonald says just because someone has offended once, it does not mean they have done it again. But she adds that there is a difference between being innocent and being found not guilty in the eyes of the law.
While lawyers have been debating the issue, others have been taking their message to the streets and in some centres straight to the courts.
Christchurch District Court staff have removed graffiti splashed on their building on Friday morning relating to the trial.
The red and black paint expressed disagreement with Thursday's verdict.
"I think it was an act probably done in anger - anger at what the court's decisions were yesterday," Joanna Payne of Justice for Rape Survivors says.
The group denies any involvement in the attack.
The graffiti has been photographed and police inquiries are continuing.
A small group also protested outside the high court in Wellington on Friday afternoon.
Rape Crisis says suppression orders are not being applied fairly.
"We're really concerned about survivors that are out there that are really considering not coming forward because of what's not happening in this country," Georgina Thompson of Wellington Rape Crisis says.
Some countries are making it easier to admit such evidence.
"I know that England for instance has recently changed its law in relation to previous convictions in what we call bad character evidence. I think there will always be some nervousness about the prejudicial effect of those convictions," McDonald says.
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