Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Conduct of proceeding - Retrial of previously acquitted person

152: Meaning of terms used in sections 153 and 154

You could also call this:

"What some important law words mean in sections 153 and 154"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

When you read sections 153 and 154, you need to know what some terms mean. An acquittal is when you are found not guilty of a crime, and it includes when a charge is dismissed under section 147, or when a conviction is set aside on appeal without an order for retrial. It does not include being discharged without conviction under section 106 of the Sentencing Act 2002.

You are an acquitted person if you have been found not guilty of a serious crime in the past. A specified serious offence is a crime that can be punished with imprisonment for life or for 14 years or more, and you have been found not guilty of it before. It also includes any crime you cannot be tried for again because you were already found not guilty.

For sections 153 and 154, evidence is new if it was not given when you were first found not guilty, and it could not have been given at that time even if people had tried really hard to find it. Evidence is compelling if it is reliable and adds a lot to what was already known, and it makes it very likely that you committed the crime. This is important when talking about sections 153 and 154.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360254.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
Previous

151: Order for retrial may be granted if acquittal tainted, or

"You can be retried if your 'not guilty' verdict was unfair because someone cheated the court system."

Next

153: Consent of Solicitor-General required in certain circumstances for exercise of powers in relation to acquitted person, or

"Police need a special okay to investigate someone again after they've been found not guilty."

Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Retrial of previously acquitted person

152Meaning of terms used in sections 153 and 154

  1. In sections 153 and 154,—

    acquittal—

    1. includes—
      1. the dismissal of a charge under section 147; and
        1. the setting aside of a conviction on appeal, without an order for retrial; but
        2. does not include a discharge without conviction under section 106 of the Sentencing Act 2002

          acquitted person means a person who has previously been acquitted of a specified serious offence

            specified serious offence, in relation to an acquitted person,—

            1. means an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for life or by imprisonment for 14 years or more and for which the person has previously been acquitted; and
              1. includes any offence for which the person may not be tried because of that acquittal.

              2. For the purposes of sections 153 and 154, evidence is new if—

              3. it was not given in the proceedings that resulted in the acquittal of the acquitted person; and
                1. it could not, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, have been given in those proceedings.

                  1. For the purposes of sections 153 and 154, evidence is compelling if—

                  2. it is a reliable and substantial addition to the evidence given in the proceedings that resulted in the acquittal of the acquitted person; and
                    1. it implicates the acquitted person with a high degree of probability in the commission of the specified serious offence.

                      Compare
                      Notes
                      • Section 152(1) specified serious offence paragraph (a): amended, on , by section 24 of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 25).