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Otago Daily
Times
February 16 2002.
Hood book reference in attack on Ellis case
by Sean Flaherty
The New Zealand Law Journal has blasted the legal system's handling of
the Peter Ellis case, using Dunedin author Lynley Hood's book A City
Possessed as a launching point for its attack.
In an editorial to be published on Monday, the independent publication says
former chief justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum's judgement, when leading a
ministerial inquiry into the case, was either wrongly directed or at fault.
The article's author, journal editor Bernard Robertson, goes on to call for
the repeal of part of the Evidence Act, questions whether the appeals process
can deliver justice and alleges courts have been "conned" by
psychologists.
The opinion piece also points the finger at the police investigation of the
Christchurch Civic Creche case, in which creche worker Peter Ellis was
convicted of child abuse, saying "it suffered from a clear fault which
was that it was driven by a junior officer with a bee in his bonnet."
Mr Ellis, who maintained he was innocent, was released from prison in 2000
after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence. His conviction was twice
referred to the Court of Appeal and was the subject of a ministerial inquiry.
Mr Robertson cites Mrs Hood's book at the start of the article, calling it
"the first attempt at a review of the whole case from the investigation
onwards".
He applauds her "astute criticism of the shortcomings of the various
methods available to review criminal convictions".
In his opinion, the strength of the 600-page book is the full reproduction of
witness statements, in contrast to the Court of Appeal's admission it
examined extracts of the statements.
The ministerial inquiry had similar limitations, the editorial says.
"Either Sir Thomas did not read those statements because like everyone
else he restricted himself to the filleted evidence that the judge allowed
in, or, with respect, his judgements at fault."
"I think it's a very interesting book that raises a lot of questions
that need to be answered," Mr Robertson, of Wellington, said when contacted yesterday.
Ms Hood yesterday welcomed the support of the journal, which sells 1000
copies a month, mainly to law firms.
"Legal authorities up and down the country have said I got it
right," she said.
She was spurred to examine "the sexual abuse hysteria" surrounding
the case not from a legal point of view but in an attempt to determine why
"community anxiety about the treatment of children can become so
powerful it unbalances the scales of justice quite independently of guilt or
innocence".
Otago District Law Society president Adrian More said when contacted
yesterday the journal was "read by many lawyers and has many helpful
articles but its editorial comment is not intended to represent the views of
lawyers generally".
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