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Police v Dabrowski [1996] NZFLR 234 (DC)

Case summary provided by LEXISNEXIS NZ

Name: Police v Dabrowski
Reported: [1996] NZFLR 234
File number: CRN 5011003302, 5011003153
Date: 15 December 1995
Court: District Court
Location: Whangarei
Judge: Thorburn DCJ
Charge: Carelessly Using a Motor Vehicle and Causing Bodily Injury
CYPF no: s2; s208; s272
Key Title: Jurisdiction of the Youth Court - Charge type; Principles
LEXISNEXIS NZ Summary:

Criminal law - Infants and children - Practice and Procedure - Application to vacate convictions entered against a young person in the District Court on the ground that she would have been dealt with in the Youth Court - Effect of s 205 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 on informations laid in the District Court instead of the Youth Court - Observation on integrating s 205 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 against the philosophy of Youth Court - Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, ss 2, 208, 272: Summary Proceedings Act 1957 s 205(1), (2).

The defendant was charged with two offences of carelessly using a motor vehicle and causing bodily injury under the Transport Act 1962. At the time of the offences and at the time the informations were laid the defendant was aged 16 years. The informations were laid under the District Court jurisdiction and not the Youth Court jurisdiction. The defendant initially pleaded not guilty, her counsel raising with the Court the question of whether the District Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter. When the defendant changed her plea to guilty, probation reports and emotional harm reports were commissioned and the question of jurisdiction was argued at sentencing.

Held (declaring the proceedings invalid and nullities and vacating the convictions)

The interpretation of s 205 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 involved a gathering up of factors beyond the age of the defendant as the‡

Page 235; [1996] NZFLR 234

Court could not invalidate the proceedings on that ground alone. It was the effect of the error by the police and the Court did not see how a mistake or error in the respect to age could ever stand alone from that effect in this area. The effect was of prejudice to the defendant and that was a matter that the Court regarded as beyond and in addition to the error of age. It did not seem right to interpret s 205 to the advantage of the police when in fact without any excuse the police had by their own error given rise to the problem. That was a matter also beyond the fact alone of the defendant's age. Therefore it was appropriate to declare the proceedings invalid or nullities and the convictions were vacated.

Observations

In an interpretation of s 205 of the Summary Proceedings Act it was imperative to pay heed to the strong and powerful philosophy contained in the Youth Justice legislation and to interpret the section in light of that legislation.

Cases referred to in judgment

Police v Edge (1992) 9 FRNZ 659
W v Ministry of Transport (1990) 7 FRNZ 75

Application

This was an application by counsel for a defendant to declare that the proceedings were null and void.