A prominent New Zealander facing serious criminal charges will keep his name secret, at least for now.
The high-profile defendant appeared by audio-visual link in the Wellington District Court this morning, but has not yet entered pleas to the charges, the nature of which cannot be reported.
The heavy suppressionhad extended even to documents normally provided to the media, that is, press copies of charging documents. Such documents are generally provided to accredited media regardless of suppression orders, but were initiallywithheld by the court ahead of today’s appearance.
The judge later ordered they be released to media, but noted the information within them could not yet be published.
The man’s case has been suppressed since last week, when he was arrested. His lawyer applied for suppression of his identity and all facts of the case and charges pending his first appearance, which Judge Noel Sainsbury granted in chambers.
This suppression order was extended today by Judge David Laurenson, who said he was satisfied it was justified at this stage.
He also declined media applications to photograph, film and audio record the hearing, saying it would undermine the suppression order.
The case will be called in the Wellington District Court this morning.
The man faces eight charges listed as category three offences. These are offences that are punishable by prison terms varying from two years to life imprisonment.
A person facing category three charges may elect either a judge-alone trial or a jury trial in the district court.
Top media organisations shared a joint opposition to ongoing suppression today, with a media representative sharing submissions on behalf of NZME, Stuff and RNZ. Police did not oppose the suppression order today.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, the court may suppress the identity of a defendant if it is satisfied publication is likely to cause one or more of eight outcomes, the most common being extreme hardship to the defendant or people connected to them, prejudice to fair trial rights, and the identification of someone else who has name suppression.
For example, at today’s call the man’s lawyer only had to advance an “arguable case” that one of the grounds for suppression applied.
This gives the lawyers and parties involved the opportunity to gather evidence and submissions before the suppression application is dealt with at a substantive hearing.
Judge Laurenson remanded the man on bail until the beginning of August, when suppression is expected to be fully argued.
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.
