Youth Court Decisions How to Use Full list of key titles CYPFA section Date

Police v D [1998] NZFLR 577 (DC)

Case summary provided by LEXISNEXIS NZ

Name: Police v D
Reported: [1998] NZFLR 577
File number: CRN 7244026503
Date: 6 May 1998
Court: District Court
Location: North Shore
Judge: McElrea DCJ
Charge:
CYPFA: s322
Key Title: Delay

LEXISNEXIS Summary:

Children and young persons - Young person appearing on criminal charges - No family group conference held - Three prior adjournments - Unnecessary and unduly protracted delay - Informations dismissed - Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, s 322.

The young person was appearing in Court on a variety of charges. A family group conference had been directed in February 1998. No conference had yet been held and the Court had received three certificates on form SW 854 explaining the reasons for the delays - firstly, no summary of facts had been received, secondly the co-ordinator assigned had been taken ill and thirdly co-ordinators were unavailable.

A request for a further adjournment was now made.

Held (refusing the adjournment and dismissing the informations):

(1) The time that had elapsed between the date of commission of the offences and the hearing had been unnecessarily and unduly protracted by reason of the department’s failure to convene a conference. The Court was not prepared to give the department a fourth opportunity to convene a conference.

(2) The word "hearing" in s 322 referred simply to a matter being dealt with in Court, as opposed to a defended hearing.

Application

This was an application for an adjournment of the hearing of information against a young person, no family group conference having yet taken place.