Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Conduct of proceeding - Proceedings conducted together

140: Procedure if charges to be heard together include new charges

You could also call this:

"What happens when you get a new charge and you already have other charges against you"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you are charged with a new offence and you already have other charges against you, this section applies. You have a new charge and an existing charge, and the court decides to hear them together, as stated in section 138. If you plead not guilty to the new charge, the court will follow certain rules.

The court can decide if some rules apply to your new charge, like the rules in subpart 3 of Part 3. If you do not have a lawyer and a case review hearing has been held, the court can also decide if these rules apply. The court can give directions about how to manage your case, including which rules to follow, like sections 54 to 57.

If your new charge is for a certain type of offence, some specific rules might apply, like sections 134(6) and 135, unless the trial is in the High Court, as stated in section 74 or 139. If the prosecutor has already filed formal statements for your existing charge, they do not need to file them again for your new charge. If you have already filed a trial callover memorandum for your existing charge, you do not need to file one for your new charge.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3865756.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

139: Procedure if charges to be heard together, or

"What happens when you face multiple charges at the same time"

141: Conviction where alternative allegations proved in Judge-alone trial, or

"Guilty of one version of a crime when a judge decides"

Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Proceedings conducted together

140Procedure if charges to be heard together include new charges

This section applies if—
a charging document charging a defendant with an offence is filed (including one deemed by section 191(2) to have been filed) (the new charge); and
proceedings in respect of 1 or more other charges against the defendant (the existing charge or charges) are in progress; and
in accordance with section 138 the new charge and the existing charge or charges are to be heard together; and
the defendant pleads not guilty to the new charge.

If a case management memorandum has been filed under section 55(3) in respect of the existing charge or charges, subpart 3 of Part 3 does not apply in respect of the new charge unless the court directs otherwise.
If the defendant is unrepresented and a case review hearing has been held, subpart 3 of Part 3 does not apply in respect of the new charge unless the court directs otherwise.
The court may, under subsection (2) or (3),—
direct that all or any of the requirements of sections 54 to 57 apply; or
give any other directions in relation to the management of the case.

If the new charge is for a category 2 or 3 offence, then unless, in accordance with section 74 or 139 the trial court is the High Court, sections 134(6) and 135 apply with any necessary modifications.
If formal statements have been filed in respect of the existing charge or charges, the prosecutor is not required to file formal statements in respect of the new charge.
If the defendant has filed a trial callover memorandum in respect of the existing charge or charges neither party is required to file a trial callover memorandum in respect of the new charge.
Nothing in this section limits any other provision of this Act not referred to in subsections (2) to (7).