Supreme Court rejects appeal bid after man argues he couldn't stop for police on yellow lines

Robert Frank Terry was convicted in 2018 of failing to stop for red and blue flashing lights. Photo / Supplied

A West Coast man who argued he couldn't stop for police because there were yellow lines on the side of the road has had his appeal bid rejected by the Supreme Court.

Robert Frank Terry, who is also known for threatening to blow up Parliament, unsuccessfully took his appeal to the highest court in the country.

Terry was convicted by two Justices of the Peace in 2018 for failing to stop for red and blue lights.

The convictions relate to an incident in June 2018, when police saw Terry driving below the speed limit and weaving over his lane about 11 o'clock one night.

According to a previous decision from the High Court at Blenheim, police suspected Terry of drinking, so put on their lights to pull him over. Terry continued to drive for more than a kilometre before stopping.

"The police said there were numerous earlier opportunities and places he could have pulled over that would have been safe although it was noted that part of the road did have dashed yellow lines indicating no stopping," the High Court decision said.

"After Mr Terry pulled over he was confrontational, aggressive and abusive. He was arrested and taken to the police station."

Part of Terry's defence at his hearing before the Justices of the Peace was that police had only pulled him over for a breath alcohol test, so could not prosecute him for anything other than that. He had not been drinking.

He also argued he had pulled over at the first available car park that wasn't on yellow dotted lines.

But the Justices of the Peace found Terry could have stopped earlier, but consciously chose not to.

He was convicted and fined $1500 as well as court costs of $130.

In an appeal before a district court judge, the fines were dropped but the conviction remained.

Terry has continued to make applications to appeal the matter, finally reaching the Supreme Court.

In a decision released last week, three Supreme Court justices declined Terry's bid for leave to appeal.

"In his application for leave to this Court, Mr Terry makes a number of submissions, mainly about the facts of the offending," the decision said.

But the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction to grant an appeal application, as the final decision on leave to appeal was made by the High Court.

Terry has an extensive history with the courts, with numerous appeals against convictions and other court decisions.

He made headlines in 2012 when he sent several letters to high-ranking officials and ministers of the Crown threatening to blow up Parliament.

In the first letter to then-Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, Terry said he had a "God given right to declare war on the Crown", adding: "Robert Terry is an expert in terrorism. Like Timothy McVeigh. He is a trained elite warrior, capable of mixing ammonia, nitrate and diesel to the required high standards. As a trained electrician, he has the proven ability to wire up the circuits required. The chances of stopping him ramming a three-tonne truck into Parliament would be about zero."

Other letters to Justice Minister Judith Collins, West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor, Ministry of Justice chief executive Andrew Bridgman, and New Zealand Law Society president Jonathon Temm, carried similar remarks and claims that Terry was a "soldier".

In a telephone call to Collins' secretary he repeated his bomb-making abilities and said: "You could do nothing if I blew up Parliament now."

Terry told police he was simply exercising his right of free speech.

He was convicted for the offending and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months.

He was also convicted of threatening to behead then-Justice and Foreign Minister Phil Goff in the early 2000s.