Man’s conviction overturned due to impact it would have on his mana

A man has had a conviction for obstructing a police officer overturned due to the impact it would have on his mana.

Joshua Green, also known as Joshua Turner, was convicted last year of obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty, after being found guilty in a judge alone trial before Judge Greg Hollister-Jones. He was fined $500.

The offending occurred on the morning of August 30, 2022. Green, 50, was the director of a logging company and arrived at the scene of a crash on the Napier-Taupō road, SH5, where one of the company’s logging trucks had collided with a ute.

Green was a close friend of the driver of the truck and went looking for him.

Judge Hollister-Jones said Green began wandering around the crash scene, and walked up to the ute to take photos while one of its occupants was nearby being treated by paramedics.

A senior constable at the crash scene instructed Green not to wander across the scene and told him to stay where he was.

Judge Hollister-Jones said Green was not concerned about whether his actions hindered police in doing their job as long as he could do what he felt he needed to do.

Green argued that he should be discharged without conviction due to the effect a conviction would have on his ability to hold a firearms licence, some personal difficulties related to the health of his infant son, and the effect a conviction would have on his mana in the community.

Judge Hollister-Jones found no grounds for a discharge without conviction and said the effect on Green’s mana would be “the ordinary consequence of a conviction”, and the consequences of a conviction were not out of all proportion to the gravity of the offending.

Green appealed the conviction and sentence. He said Judge Hollister-Jones had erred by finding he had obstructed the senior constable, and had erred by finding that the effect on mana was an ordinary consequence of conviction.

The appeal, opposed by police, was heard by Justice Peter Andrew in the High Court at Rotorua last month.

In a recently released decision Justice Andrew said he found no merit in the argument that Green had not obstructed the senior constable. He said Green’s offending was low-level, and noted that Green had a professional and personal interest in what was going on at the crash scene.

The judge also noted the findings of an Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation, triggered by a complaint by Green. The IPCA’s decision revealed that the senior constable had told Green that his company “had a bad reputation in Taupō”. Justice Andrew said that might go some way to explain why Green behaved the way he did.

Justice Andrew said Green had demonstrated genuine remorse for his offending, and had apologised to the senior constable in a letter.

Green’s appeal placed great emphasis and weight on the impact of a conviction on his mana. The judge heard that Green was a kaumātua and leader within Ngāti Tūwharetoa. He was described by the chair of the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, John Bishara, as “a great leader in our community”.

Green is a director of the Central North Island Wood Council, and was an elected trustee for many Māori land trusts. His company Green Transport Ltd. was a strong supporter of local community sports clubs, and the judge had “significant references and letters of support before the Court testifying to his [Green’s] significant roles within the community generally”

Bishara provided an affidavit to say a conviction would have a significant effect on Green’s mana. Bishara said that, from a Māori perspective, “whakamā (shame, embarrassment, and loss of mana) is a very real and deep burden and/or penalty for a Māori person to carry and is a very real consequence of a conviction”.

Justice Andrew said “I find that the consequences of a conviction on Mr Green and, in particular, the impact on his mana, would be significant”. He also found that Judge Hollister-Jones had erred by finding that the consequences to Green were the ordinary consequences of a conviction. He noted that he came to that conclusion with the advantage of having material that Judge Hollister-Jones didn’t.

“A discharge without conviction can serve to restore, or prevent the loss of, Mr Green’s mana,” Justice Andrew said.

The appeal was granted and Green was discharged without conviction.