The lawyer for the family of Steven Wallace, shot by police nearly two years ago, has applied for the case to be heard in the High Court.
Mr Wallace was shot and killed in April 2000 in Waitara by Constable Keith Abbott.
In February, in the first private murder prosecution against a police officer, justices of the peace Bob Moffat and John More found that Constable Abbott acted in self-defence and ruled that there was no case to answer.
But yesterday, John Rowan, QC, representing the Wallace family, said he had filed an application with the High Court at New Plymouth for the case to be heard by a High Court judge.
If the application is granted the case will go to trial.
"The grounds of my application are that the justices were wrong in law in their decision and wrong with the facts. There was sufficient evidence to put Constable Abbott on trial," Mr Rowan said.
Acting police commissioner Steve Long said he was saddened that Constable Abbott and his family faced further stress and uncertainty.
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