Community magistrates brought into Auck courts - Video

It would pay to check each case very carefully for jurisdiction of the Community Magistrates. Of the total cases disposed by them in 2006, 1712, or 37.3% were outside of jurisdiction (Impact of Community Magistrates on the Summary Process report). This was the eighth year of the pilot. Any case heard without jurisdiction is ultra vires and any resulting judgment a nullity (Simpson v Whakatane District Court [2005] NZAR 537). To make matters worse, the Court of Appeal has ruled that there is no right of appeal from decisions of the Community Magistrates beyond the High Court. This is a misinterpretation of the appeal provisions.

Ridley - how uninformed you are! Would not take Sherlock to quess you have obviously been dealt with correctly by a JP!!

Community Magistrates have been sitting in Waikato and Tauranga for 12 years. A portion are JPs. They come from the wider community and are extremely efficient having improved the backlog in these courts signifantly. They have been successfully evaluated in these courts. I am a criminal lawyer and have been most impressed with the work done by Magistrates. People need to get their facts correct before commenting.