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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Conduct of proceeding - Amendment of charge

135: Procedure if charge amended after order made under section 68 or 70

You could also call this:

"What happens if the charge against you changes after a decision about which court will hear your trial"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If a charge is changed before a trial to replace one offence with another, and an order was made under section 68 or 70 about which court should hear the trial, you need to follow some rules. You will have to look at what the order said about which court should hear the trial. If the order said the trial should be in the District Court, the court can look at the new charge.

If the trial was going to be in the District Court and the new charge is a protocol offence, the court can decide to apply sections 67 and 68. If it is not a protocol offence, you or the prosecutor can ask to move the trial to the High Court under section 70. The court will make a decision about which court is best for the trial.

If the order said the trial should be in the High Court, a High Court Judge can decide whether the trial should still be in the High Court or if it should be moved to the District Court. The Judge can make this decision on their own or after you or the prosecutor ask them to. The Judge can also order the trial to be moved to the District Court if it will not delay the trial and is fair.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3865755.

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"What happens if the court changes the charges against you before a trial"

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Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Amendment of charge

135Procedure if charge amended after order made under section 68 or 70

  1. This section applies if a charge is amended before the trial to substitute one offence for another offence that is a category 2 or 3 offence and an order determining the level of trial court had been made under section 68 or 70 in relation to the charge before it was amended.

  2. If the order made under section 68 or 70 was that the trial be held in the District Court—

  3. if the prosecutor identifies the offence in the charge (as amended) as a protocol offence, the court may (but is not required to) refer the charge for sections 67 and 68 to be applied; and
    1. in any other case, the defendant or the prosecutor may make an application to transfer the proceeding to the High Court under section 70.

      1. If the order made under section 68 or 70 was that the trial be held in a High Court, a High Court Judge—

      2. may, on his or her own motion, or on application by the prosecutor or defendant, reconsider whether the trial is to be held in the District Court or the High Court; and
        1. may, without seeking a new recommendation from the District Court Judge under section 67, order that the trial be held in the District Court, if doing so will not unduly delay proceedings and is otherwise in the interests of justice.