Court-date skippers may face jail
Memo to Christchurch offenders: Failing to take your court dates seriously is likely to buy you time in the cells.
Christchurch judges have moved to stop some of the ‘‘churn’’ that is stopping cases moving quickly through the criminal justice system.
Christchurch District Court Judge Alistair Garland yesterday announced the old arrangement where people could make voluntary appearances at court was ‘‘no longer in vogue’’.
Local judges had discussed the problem of people simply not turning up for their court appearances, and had decided that the system of voluntary appearances would be stopped.
Under that more lenient system, people who turned up at court when it suited them, after an earlier failure when an arrest warrant was issued, were simply given a new appearance date by staff.
They would then probably turn up on the new date and the case would be on the move through the system again.
Judge Garland announced in the main list court yesterday that the judges had told staff they were no longer to give people dates for ‘‘voluntary appearances’’.
When people turned themselves in by fronting up at the court counters, the warrant was to be executed.
That effectively means being arrested on the spot and delivered to a judge in court as soon as possible.
It will often mean a wait in the cells, and if the person comes in late in the day it will probably mean spending overnight in custody before re-release on bail can be considered.
Defendants failing to turn up at court is one of many reasons why cases often quickly.
In other cases, court-ordered reports might not be ready in time, or checks on bail addresses might have to be done, or legal aid might only just have been arranged and assigned, or there may have been a muddle of dates of times by lawyers or defendants. Issues with police providing the defence with paperwork on cases sometimes cause delays.
When warrants are issued for non-appearance, the defendants sometimes receive a visit from the police and are brought to court, or the warrants wait until the next time they come in contact with the authorities. While the warrant is waiting in the system, people have previously been able to make voluntary appearances.
The case prompting yesterday’s announcement involved an 18-year-old who was due to be sentenced in February on charges of being disguised for a burglary and possession of equipment for using cannabis.
Judge Garland was surprised to see the man walking into the dock from the public seating, to make a voluntary appearance, after the judges had told staff to stop using that arrangement.
From now on, he will expect to see people being brought in from the cells, or appearing on screen from the cells in such cases.
The judge considered the bail arrangements after hearing the teenager had failed to appear at court twice while the case was working through the system. Defence counsel Rachel Wood explained the teen had been caring for his mother, who was ill with cancer, and was at Dunedin hospital with her where she was undergoing surgery at the time of his last scheduled appearance.
Judge Garland eventually granted bail and remanded the youth for sentencing on July 18. do not progress Helicopter trips to a stunning and remote Fiordland glacier will reduce dramatically after the Department of Conservation (DOC) was found to be acting in breach of its own guidelines.
The Ombudsman has found a trial allowing more aircraft to land on the Mt Tutoko Glacier, on the Ngapunatoru Plateau in the Fiordland National Park, was ‘‘unreasonable’’, with aspects of the decision appearing to be ‘‘contrary to law’’.
The trial, introduced in February 2016, allowed up to 70 aircraft a day to land on the glacier, by giving seven helicopter operators concessions for 10 daily landings each.
It was put in place to address growing tourist demand for scenic glacier landings. DOC considered the increased landings were a practical way of researching the effects of increased aircraft activity.
Under DOC’s Fiordland National Park Management Plan, helicopter landings on the plateau were to be capped at 10 per day, and 500 per year. The glacier is considered a high-use site for glacier landings and back country ski access and climbing.
Ombudsman Leo Donnelly said in his report that DOC had ‘‘statutory responsibility’’ to regulate the Fiordland National Park in accordance with its management plan.
‘‘I have formed the opinion that the department’s decision was unreasonable, and aspects of this decision appear to have been contrary to law.’’
The report found DOC’s decision to increase daily landings had the potential to ‘‘detract significantly’’ from back country users ‘‘ability to draw inspiration and enjoyment’’ from the area. DOC did not follow the required review and consultation processes for changing the landing limits.
It recommended DOC cancel the increase to daily landing limits, work to ensure existing concessions matched the limits set out in the management plan, and worked out a strategy to allocate the limited landing concessions available.
Deputy director-general operations Mike Slater said DOC accepted the Ombudsman’s findings and would work to implement them ‘‘as soon as is reasonably practicable’’.
‘‘The department was trying to be pragmatic and balance the growing demands from tourism operators for more scenic glacier landings with the impact such landings can have on other users and the environment.
‘‘But we accept we got it wrong by not following the limits set in the Fiordland National Park Management Plan.’’
The Ombudsman’s investigation came after the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC) complained about the trial.
FMC president Peter Wilson said the decision was ‘‘a victory for the outdoor community, for the rule of law on public land, and for the intrinsic values of Fiordland’’.
He said national park management plans were ‘‘not open for abuse’’ by DOC in response to pressure from the previous government and the tourism industry.