STORY: "Review of 'clumsy' court process could save millions," published by TVNZ on January 2, 2014. (No attribution to reporter);
GIST: "Millions of taxpayers' dollars could be saved by setting up an independent body to investigate miscarriages of justice currently dealt with by a "clumsy and blunt" court process, Canterbury University's dean of law says. Chris Gallavin and Labour justice spokesperson Andrew Little have renewed a decade-old debate, calling for the establishment of a Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Gallavin said the body was a necessity rather than a "nice to have", but it would only be made possible by a "progressive government". The idea had already been rejected by the National-led government, and a government spokesman yesterday referred to Justice Minister Judith Collins' previous statement that the country's criminal justice system had robust safeguards against miscarriages of justice through the appeals process . But Gallavin said there were cases involving "sloppy investigations", and an independent body investigating claims of miscarriages of justice would provide an element of integrity above the current "clumsy and blunt" process. "It actually goes to the heart of the integrity of the system. In the long run I think it would save money.".........He quoted research which showed there were about 12 cases of injustice in New Zealand each year, but only one or two were picked up in through the prerogative of mercy process. " I think [National] have their head in the sands about it." An independent body like the Criminal Cases Review Commission in England and Scotland would be another "safety valve" for the justice system, he said. "Cases going back as far as Arthur Allan Thomas and as recent as Mark Lundy, and including Teina Pora in between, could all have benefited from a criminal cases review commission. "The reality is that things can go wrong in a trial and juries can get things wrong, and the appeal process can sometimes allow too narrow an opportunity to challenge what has gone wrong at trial." In August, Collins said the Ministry of Justice was administering 12 applications for pardons and three applications for compensation claims. In October, she shunned calls for an independent body to be set up following the Privy Council's decision to throw out Mark Lundy's double murder convictions for the murder of his wife Christine and daughter Amber in 2000."......... The legal aid bill for David Bain's retrial was $3.33m, the highest amount in legal history. Convicted in 1995 of murdering his parents, Robin, 58, and Margaret, 50, his sisters Arawa, 19, and Laniet, 18, and his 14-year-old brother Stephen, Bain was acquitted at a 2009 retrial. Ministry of Justice's final figure for Bain's defence was $3.33 million. Of that amount, $2.33 million went towards the retrial costs and almost $1 million was paid for expenses in the retrial. Lawyer's fees throughout the High Court, Court of Appeal and retrial process amounted to $1.77 million of the total bill."
The entire story can be found at:
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/review-clumsy-court-process-could-save-millions-5790815
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com;
