Blogger's home detention over after appeal

A New Zealand blogger who represented himself in New Zealand’s highest court has successfully argued for his home detention to end after being convicted for a series of “hate-filled” posts and harassment of several people, including a former parliamentarian.

Dermot Nottingham, who earlier this year tried to sue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over the Covid-19 lockdown, was found guilty of five criminal harassment charges and two breaches of court suppression orders after a jury trial in 2018.

In one instance he sent one of his victims a scene from the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, which showed a person being shot in the head. The suppression breaches relate to a high-profile homicide case.

He was later sentenced to 12 months’ home detention and 100 hours of community work.

Nottingham unsuccessfully attempted to overturn his convictions in the Court of Appeal, where he accused the former MP of perjury, and also failed in a final bid to quash his convictions in the Supreme Court last year.

By the time his challenge to the Court of Appeal was heard, Nottingham had served 3½ months of his sentence. But the SolicitorGeneral’s appeal against sentence was allowed, and a new home detention sentence imposed.

Nottingham appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. A hearing was held in late May. The argument was whether the Court of Appeal erred when imposing a sentence for Nottingham which would mean that, in total, he would serve 15½ months’ home detention.

Under the Sentencing Act 2002, the maximum home detention period is 12 months.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court replaced the term with 8½ months’ home detention from July 30, 2019.

“Having served more than 12 months’ home detention, Mr Nottingham has served that part of his sentence. The remaining period of community work to be served by Mr Nottingham is remitted,” it said.