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Home / New Zealand

Attorney-General satisfied with conduct of Crown Law

Isaac Davison
By Isaac Davison
Senior Reporter, Health·NZ Herald·
13 Jul, 2015 10:38 PM2 mins to read

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John Banks during his stand up media conference at the Stamford Plaza, Auckland. Photo / Brett Gibbs

John Banks during his stand up media conference at the Stamford Plaza, Auckland. Photo / Brett Gibbs

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has backed Crown Law and the Solicitor-General following questions about their conduct in the prosecution of John Banks.

After Mr Banks was acquitted of filing a false electoral return in May, Mr Finlayson said he would "take a close look" at the Crown's prosecution of the former Act Party leader and Auckland mayoral candidate.

RELATED:

Attorney-Gen to 'look into' Banks' prosecution

He said this morning he had completed his investigation and he was satisfied with the conduct of Crown Law in relation to the case.

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"Mr Banks has had a distinguished career in both central and local government and I acknowledge the distress this matter has caused his family and him," Mr Finlayson said.

"I am, however, satisfied that Crown Law's supervision of the litigation was satisfactory and in line with the Prosecution Guidelines 2013."

Mr Banks was highly critical of Crown prosecutor Paul Dacre, QC and Solicitor-General Mike Heron, QC, after his acquittal, saying they had "a lot to answer for".

At the time, the Court of Appeal had ruled that Crown Law had misled the court by withholding evidence.

Mr Finlayson, who is the minister responsible for the Crown Law Office, gave his full support to Mr Heron.

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"Because of the personalised nature of some of the allegations about the conduct of the Solicitor-General, I state for the record that he has my full confidence. He is an outstanding Solicitor-General," he said.

The Crown took over the case from serial litigant Graham McCready, who took a private prosecution against Mr Banks in relation to donations he received from Kim Dotcom during his mayoral campaign in 2010.

Crown Law briefed an independent barrister for the case because it was politically sensitive and because Mr Dotcom, who is facing extradition to the United States, was a witness in the trial.

Mr Finlayson said the next step in the case would be determining costs, which he said was a matter for Crown Law and Mr Banks' lawyer.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

John Banks: Urgent hearing ordered

15 Apr 09:09 PM
New Zealand|crime

John Banks retrial should stand - Crown

28 Apr 02:00 AM
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Lunch date crucial, says Banks' lawyer

28 Apr 05:00 PM
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IPCA investigates John Banks donation inquiry

06 May 12:28 AM

"I will be making no further comments," he said.

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