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Allegations
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A courtroom battle is
looming to have charges dropped against two former policemen jointly charged
with Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards over alleged historic
offences. And the future of a
commission of inquiry into police conduct is in question as a result of the
charges, with commissioners Bruce Robertson and Dame Margaret Bazley deciding
next week whether it should be disbanded. Rickards and former police
colleagues Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum appeared in court on Wednesday to
face charges stemming from allegations by Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas
revealed in The Dominion Post last January. Their charge details are
suppressed. Lawyers for Shipton and
Schollum have indicated they will seek a permanent stay of proceedings to
prevent a criminal trial. Tauranga lawyer Paul
Mabey QC, acting for Schollum, has made it clear he does not think the three
men would get a fair trial after the amount of publicity the alleged offences
had received. "A stay of
proceeding is being contemplated but pre-trial publicity is only one of a
number of factors relevant to that application." He would not say what
these factors were. It is expected a stay application would not be made
before a depositions hearing, where a court decides if there is a case to
answer. Shipton's lawyer, Bill
Nabney, also confirmed yesterday a stay application was being considered due
to the publicity. Rickards' lawyer, John
Haigh QC, would not confirm yesterday whether he too was seeking a stay of
proceedings. All three entered no
plea when they appeared in court on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the future
of the commission of inquiry into police conduct -- sparked by Mrs Nicholas'
allegations -- is in limbo. In August,
commissioners Justice Bruce Robertson and Dame Margaret Bazley decided it
should not proceed till criminal inquiries were completed, in fear of
contamination. A written ruling was
released revealing details of a closed chambers meeting in May, in which the
need to reassess the commission's role if charges were laid was emphasised. "If that stage is
reached, we will need to consider whether ... because of the inevitable time
delays which will realistically be not less than a year, we should be
discharged from our task and consideration be given at the end of the trial
process to what sort of commission is required to deal with any matters which
then require attention," the ruling states. The inquiry's future
would be discussed at an open hearing next Thursday in Wellington, a
spokesman said. |
