district court logo

New Zealand Police v AZ [2018] NZYC 368

Published 15 February 2019

Aggravated robbery — wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm — Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003, ss 4, 9, 13 & 14 — Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003, s 7 — R v Barton [2012] NZCA 295 — R v Nonu [2017] NZCA 170. The young person was charged with aggravated robbery and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The purpose of this hearing was to decide whether the young person was fit to stand trial. Two questions had to be answered: is the young person mentally impaired? If so, does this impairment render the young person unfit to stand trial? A clinical psychologist and a health assessor both interviewed the young person. They both came to the conclusion that he was not mentally impaired and was able to stand trial. However, both experts said that the young person had poor literacy, low IQ and difficulty processing information quickly. They advised he would require assistance during any Court proceeding. The Judge found the young person was fit to stand trial. Following this the young person "not denied" both charges, meaning the next step would be a family group conference (FGC) rather than a trial. The Judge directed that the young person receive help from a communication assistance and youth advisor before and during the FGC. The FGC was to be broken down into small blocks with regular breaks and the young person was to be given time to process and respond to questions. Judgment Date: 10 July 2018. * * * Note: Names have been changed to comply with legal requirements * * *

Tags