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Police v A [young person] (1994) 12 FRNZ 82

Case Summary provided by BROOKERS

Name: Police v A [young person]
Reported: (1994) 12 FRNZ 82
File number: CRN3290016320
Date: 9 February 1994
Court: District Court
Location: Henderson
Judge: McElrea DCJ
Charge: Aggravated Robbery
CYPFA: s274; s275; s276
Key Title: Purely Indictable Procedure

BROOKERS Summary:

Children, young persons, and their families - Youth justice - Young person charged with aggravated robbery - Whether possible to give opportunity to forgo the right to trial by jury - Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, ss 274, 275, 276.

A, a young person, was charged with aggravated robbery. The charge was for robbing another young person of a pair of shoes. The offence was a purely indictable matter which could only be laid indictably. The issue was whether it was possible to give A the opportunity of "forgoing the right to trial by jury" when that was not his right in the sense that he had an election.

Held, giving A the right to forgo his right to trial by jury:

The Court has to address the question of whether a young person will be given the opportunity of remaining in the Youth Court, before the trial, even where the matter is denied. Section 275 Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 should be interpreted to apply even where there is no election of trial by jury by the young person because:

(a) Section 275 begins with the phrase "where s 274 of this Act applies", and s 274 covers purely indictable offences and those where the young person elects jury trial;

(b) It would be meaningless to include the phrase "if the offence is not murder or manslaughter" in s 275 if there was no possibility of giving the young person the choice for other indictable offences;

(c) Although in one sense there is no "right" to trial by jury, because it is necessary to proceed in that manner, there is a "right" in the sense that everyone has the right to trial by jury for serious offences whether the election is theirs or not; and

(d) There is an established practice of interpreting s 276 in that way, which is worded in a similar manner to s 275.

Pretrial ruling

This was a ruling as to whether a young person had the right to forgo trial by jury.