Christopher Luxon answers a question on the resignation of the Police Deputy Commissioner
Ex-top cop Jevon McSkimming’s injunction battle has been heard in the Wellington High Court today.
McSkimming, the former deputy police commissioner, is seeking the continuation of an injunction to keep what was allegedly found on his work computer under wraps.
Lawyers have argued today about fair trial rights, protecting court processes, and whether the information is in the public interest.
The public have a right to know why former top cop Jevon McSkimming “jumped before he was pushed”, resigning suddenly after alleged objectionable material was found on his work computer, a lawyer has argued.
A high court battle to reveal the nature of the material was heard in Wellington today,with McSkimming’s lawyer arguing they “can’t turn back the clock” on what had already been published, but that the court should stop further specifics from being reported.
“Confidential” information about the nature of the material “ought not to have been leaked” to media his lawyer Linda Clark argued, saying public interest had already been served by news stories that had been published.
Meanwhile a lawyer representing three leading news media organisations, including NZME, said the public had a right to understand why the former deputy police commissioner suddenly resigned from his position upon discovery of the material.
McSkimming had been suspended on full pay since December while under a separate criminal investigation - the nature of which also cannot be reported currently for legal reasons - following a complaint by a member of the public.
The 51-year-old had previously indicated he would return to work after the investigation, but has since resigned after the new allegations arose.
The case was called in the Wellington High Court today, where Clark argued for the extension of a gag order preventing media from publishing the nature of the material found on McSkimming’s work devices.
She had previously secured an interim injunction, and is now arguing for it to extend until charges were potentially laid.
Granting the continuation of the injunction “would recognise that information gathered during the police investigation and prepared for the sole purpose of that investigation is confidential, and publication may adversely affect the judicial processes,” she said in court today.
“In this case, suppression is necessary to protect the court’s processes since publication will nullify any discretion the court has to impose suppression orders of any kind under the Criminal Procedure Act.
“Naturally, in an application such as this, public interest will be front of mind and, your honour, we say that public interest has been served by the amount of information already in the public domain about Mr McSkimming.”
Clark said a confidential document sent between agencies and police may have been leaked to the media, or at least some knowledge relating to the document.
Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“It ought not to have been leaked but we can’t turn the clock back on that,” she said.
She said the court needed to consider protecting McSkimming’s potential fair trial rights and the court’s processes. For example, she said it could be possible if he were charged, he would want to apply to the court for suppression of the details in question until the conclusion of a trial.
“I think those rights [to apply for suppression] are there for a purpose and every person facing a criminal investigation is entitled to rely on them equally.”
Lawyer for NZME, Stuff and RNZ, Robert Stewart KC, said the court had the power to suppress names, evidence and submissions, but that did not cover the suppression of charges.
Stewart also said there was no suggestion or evidence from police that allowing publication of the information would harm the police investigation and said if McSkimming was charged and elected trial by jury, the issue around what the nature of the material was wasn’t something jurors would need to decide themselves, therefore fair trial rights were not at risk.
“Mr McSkimming is quite clearly a public figure,” he said. “There is a huge public interest in these investigations.
“He jumped before he was pushed . . . The public have a right to understand a little bit more about the material that led to that, or the nature of the allegations that led to that.
“If there is to be any restraint at all it should be as limited as possible for as short as possible to enable the defendant’s [the media’s] rights to freedom of expression and the public’s rights to freedom of expression - because the public has the right to receive information just as my clients have the right to impart it.”
Justice Karen Grau has reserved her decision on the continuation of the injunction and will release it in writing at a later date.
Jevon McSkimming was not present at today’s hearing.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
