KEY POINTS:
For 27 years police have wanted to put Maxwell George Thomas in front of a judge to face a charge of assault.
The problem was that Thomas, 52, did not know he was a wanted man, and police apparently never let him know either.
The bizarre situation came
to light after Thomas, a former Invercargill resident now living in Brisbane, arrived in New Zealand last week for his annual muttonbird hunt at the Muttonbird Islands, near Stewart Island. Thomas became aware of a warrant in his name when a Customs officer approached him when he arrived.
He appeared in the Invercargill District Court this week to face the assault charge, and now, because of the long delay, police doubt whether they can continue with a fair prosecution.
If they do proceed, Thomas' lawyer Kate McHugh will ask a judge to withdraw the charge based on the 27-year delay. She could not reveal details of the case without her client's permission.
Thomas could not be reached yesterday, but he is due to reappear in court on May 11.
Asked what were the chances of the case proceeding against Thomas, Constable Glen McMurdo, of Invercargill police, told the Herald: "Probably not a very good chance."
Issues around fairness to Thomas, according to the Bill of Rights, had to be considered, as well as the circumstances of others involved.
"The victim and witnesses have probably all moved on. It would depend on their location and what their thoughts are. We've got to ask them as well, and then we'll see what sort of chance there is to proceed."
Police were still to locate the case file yesterday, and a lot would depend on "what statements were taken at the time and what evidence we have".
Mr McMurdo said the gap between the alleged crime and court appearance by Thomas was certainly an unusual one, but not the first of its type in the deep south.
New Zealand Law Society criminal law spokesman Jonathan Krebs said: "There is a growing body of case law that establishes that undue delay is a powerful argument in favour of staying a prosecution."