|
This page last updated June 1 2007
March 2 2007; Dominion Post
publishes Chronology
A case history from when allegations were first made
at the end of January 2004 through to the recent verdict
2007-0302 - Dominion Post -
Case history
2007-0302 - Dominion Post -
All acquitted but two are already in jail for rape
March 2 2007; Time issues
on rape trials under scrutiny
A
top New Zealand
lawyer is calling for a time limit on rape allegations after not guilty
verdicts were reached in the police indecent assault trial for charges dating
back more than 20 years. The case is one of several multimillion dollar
trials into historical claims that have failed to get a conviction.
 Defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb believes the women who
made the accusations should not have been allowed their day in court. Gotlieb
wants a 10 year expiry date on rape allegations, sparking debate in the legal
fraternity. Gotlieb represented former Kaitaia constable Timothy Ogle who was
acquitted of rape last year - 19 years after the alleged incident. "It
took us a year to find a very important witness," he said. "Others
had disappeared."
Lawyer Gary Gotlieb
Graeme
Newell from the Criminal Bar Association says ten years too short -
perhaps 15,20 years
Jeremy Finn; (Canterbury University
Law Lecturer) : "There are a
number of cases where we have no doubt at all about the guilt of the
offender"
2007-0302 - One News - Police trial
raises time issues
March 2 2007; Rickards
criticised for voicing his belief of Shipton, Schollum's innocence
At the end of the trial Clint Rickards commented that his
former colleagues and co-defendants Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum should not
have been imprisoned for rape. Schollum and Shipton should not be in prison,
he said
This statement was criticised by Victoria
University academic Jan
Jordan. She "did not think it was appropriate" that Mr
Rickards should make such a comment
Jan Jordan
(Comment
peterellis.org.nz - Jan Jordan has obviously no appreciation that the
justice system is capable of making mistakes. It is very much appropriate for
anybody to voice concerns about a possible miscarriage of justice. It is surprising that a criminologist does
not understand this.)
2007-0302 - Stuff - Court system needs
to change - rape crisis
March 2 2007; Police
Complaints Authority to scrutinise rape allegations
Justice
Lowell
Goddard
The rape allegations are still subject to the scrutiny of police watchdog,
the Police Complaints Authority. While its findings are expected to be months
away the PCA is now resuming its investigations which had been limited while
criminal cases were outstanding. PCA head Justice Goddard says the inquiry is
being treated as a priority and they are getting on with it as swiftly as
they can.
2007-0302 - One News - Rickards
keen to return to force
March 2 2007; Opinion
divided - Should Clint Rickards get his job back?
Opinions
are divided on whether or not Clint Rickards should be allowed to continue
work as Assistant Police Commissioner.
Clint
Rickards has vowed to be back at work soon. His lawyer John
Haigh QC says his client can not see anything to prevent him from
going back to his job as Auckland's
top police officer. Mr Haigh says issues like public opinion or his
friendship with two convicted rapists should not impact on that.
 Employment law expert Peter Cullen said Mr Rickards
comments about looking forward to returning to work as soon as possible could
be seen as either putting pressure on police to have him return to his role
as assistant commissioner, or, possibly setting the stage for negotiating an
exit package. But his attack on the investigation team, at the conclusion of
the trial, appeared damaging to either approach.
Peter Cullen
A former head of the Police Association, Rob Moodie, says Clint Rickards'
return to work will depend on what proceedings, if any, the police
commissioner is planning to take against him. He says the police need to make
their position clear in view of the enormous amount of public interest in the
case. Mr Rickards and former officers Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum were
yesterday found not guilty of historical sex. "The police are very
unforgiving in relation to situations where somebody has been charged with
such serious offences, whether convicted or not." Dr Moodie says despite
the fact Mr Rickards was acquitted, there has been a portrayal of unsavoury
conduct.
Deputy Police Commissioner Rob Pope said Rickards will remain
suspended while police sort through employment issues. This would take
"some time", but police would move as quickly as possible.
An employment law specialist suggests the police will have to be thorough if
they want Rickards dumped. Phillipa Muir of Simpson Grierson
says employers have a new test to justify dismissals and the police will have
to investigate trust and confidence issues. She says an employer has to
determine whether a fair and reasonable employer would dismiss Rickards, not
just whether the police think they should
2007-0301 - One News - Rickards'
future uncertain
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Auckland's still my station, says Rickards
2007-0302 - Newstalk ZB -
Rickards will fight for his job
2007-0302 - Newstalk ZB -
Difficult time ahead for Rickards?
2007-0302 - Newswire - Defence
Lawyer Insists Rickards Is Fit For Job
2007-0302 - Timaru Herald - No
easy return to policing for Rickards
2007-0302 - Newswire - Rickards'
Return To Work Depends On Commissioner - Moodie
2007-0302 - The Press - Top
officer faces uphill battle
2007-0302 - OneNews - Questions
follow police trial verdicts
2007-0302 - Dominion Post
- Rickards would 'find it hard' to regain support
2007-0302 - Radio NZ -
Commission of Inquiry
2007-0302 - One News - Rickards
keen to return to force
2007-0302 - Nelson Mail -
Rickards to remain suspended from force
2007-0302 - Waikato Times - Rough
road for Rickards
March 2 2007; Jury knew two
of the accused were already in jail.
Brad
Shipton's brother-in-law Chris Foot revealed that "Jury members
approached our family last night, yesterday evening, and actually said that
they did know. Bear in mind the jury
members did approach us, we did not approach them."
Clint Rickards' lawyer John Haigh said the jury would
have been aware of the convictions of two of the defendants but had withstood
media pressure in reaching their verdict.
Barrister Peter Winter, who specialises in
criminal law and is the past president of the Criminal Bar Association of New
Zealand, said: "No one in their right mind could believe that the jury
didn't know about Shipton and Schollum's previous conviction,"
2007-0302 - NZ Herald - 'Jurors knew
accused in jail' - brother-in-law
2007-0302 - Newstalk ZB -
Schollum, Shipton appealing convictions
March 2 2007; Opinion
divided - Should jury have known two accused were already in jail?
Opinions
are divided on whether or not the jury should have known that two of the men
were in jail for raping a woman already.
Protester
Joanna Payne
Joanna
Payne, spokesperson for a protest group, believes evidence relating to
earlier court cases involving Mr Rickards, Schollum and Shipton should have
been put before the jury in the latest trial.
Barrister Peter
Winter, who specialises in criminal law and is the past president of
the Criminal Bar Association of New Zealand, does not support a change in
law: "The whole issue is a fair trial. In relation to that, it's really
important the jury focus on the evidence in front of them, not things that
may have happened in the past, the circumstances of which are not known -
just the convictions. ……….He said it was an excellent rule. "I think that
without that, people will invariably believe if they are convicted, that they
were convicted not on the evidence but on what may have happened in the
past."
Barrister Kit Toogood agrees "Each case must be judged on its own
merits according to the interests of justice, but particularly the interests
of justice so far as the accused are concerned. "There's nothing about
this that suggests the rules need to be reviewed."
The jury in the trial is being urged to have faith in their judgement.
Victoria University Law School associate professor Elisabeth McDonald says
just because someone has offended once, it does not mean they have done it
again
 However, retired
barrister Kevin Ryan argues it was time the law was changed to allow
juries to be informed of an accused person's criminal past so they could
properly evaluate the defendant's character.
Kevin Ryan
Andrea
Black from Rape Crisis, has "no doubt" the trial, would
have turned out differently if the jury knew about the convictions. She is
obviously wrong, because Brad Shipton's brother-in-law Chris Foot said that
the jurors in the trial actually knew Shipton and Schollum were in jail for
rape. He said "Jury members approached our family yesterday evening, and
actually said that they did know
Rape Crisis spokesperson Kim
McGregor also thinks there has to be a change from the adversarial
system that pitted one person against another in terms of their credibility
Mr Rickards' lawyer John Haigh said the jury would
have been aware of the convictions of two of the defendants but had withstood
media pressure in reaching their verdict. "No one in their right mind
could believe that the jury didn't know about Shipton and Schollum's previous
conviction. "And yet again they (the jury) focused on the evidence.
"And that's why these people attacking the verdict had no idea about the
extent of the evidence that was heard, how the complainant stacked up under
examination."
2007-0302 - Stuff - Nothing wrong
with suppression rules - QC
2007-0302 - ThreeNews -
Burning questions in the wake of historic sex trial
2007-0302 - Stuff - Verdicts spark
vandalism in Chch
2007-0302 - NZ Herald - 'Jurors knew
accused in jail' - brother-in-law
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Police verdicts spark vandalism at courthouse
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Juries shouldn't know about convictions, says expert (Updated report)
2007-0302 - Radio NZ - Rape
Crisis wants juries to be informed about previous criminal convictions
2007-0302 - OneNews - Questions
follow police trial verdicts
2007-0302 - Stuff - Court system needs
to change - rape crisis
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Juries shouldn't know about convictions, says expert
March 2 2007; Christchurch
District Court Vandalism; Anti Rickards campaign on line
Red paint and graffiti "Rapist Cops Guilty" was written on a
Christchurch court building, in apparent protest ar the verdict. The graffiti was removed later in the day.
A group calling themselves "Justice for Rape Survivors" also
protested at the court. A spokesperson, Joanna Payne, supported the message,
but denied responsibility for the vandalism. "I think it looks
great" she said. "I guess this is a
symbol of that shock and that anger about the fact this was an unfair
trial."
An anonymous online campaign has
begun to try to pressure police bosses not to reinstate Clint Rickards
2007-0302 - RadioNZ - Police sex
case graffiti painted on District Court building
2007-0302 - Radio NZ -
Police investigating district court vandalism
2007-0302 - Newswire -
Police Sex Case Graffiti On District Court
2007-0302 - Stuff - Verdicts spark
vandalism in Chch
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Police verdicts spark vandalism at courthouse
2007-0302 - Newstalk ZB -
Police verdict vandalism removed
2007-0302 - NewstalkZB -
Anti-Rickards campaign goes online
March 2 2007; Clint
Rickards comments outside Court reported
 Clint Rickards
comments
On the Operation Austin investigation: "It was an
investigation I would have been ashamed to have led." "It was a shambles.
And the police there need to be held accountable. The Austin investigation team need to be held
accountable."
On Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum: "They shouldn't
be where they are," Mr Rickards said, again blaming the Operation Austin
investigators. "Brad Shipton is a good friend. Bob Schollum is a good
friend. They are still good friends of mine and always will be."
On the complainant and the
complainant in the previous trial, Louise Nicholas: "She's a liar.
They both are liars. And they have been proven to be liars over the last
three years."
The plaster cast the complainant
didn't notice
On his future in the
police: "The police is a great organisation, and I'd recommend it to
anyone", "I'm the district
commander of Auckland
police. I'm looking forward to going back to work as soon as possible."
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Auckland's still my station, says Rickards
March 2 2007; Louise
Nicholas, Rape Crisis comment
 Louise Nicholas said she was "absolutely
gutted" by yesterday's not guilty verdicts. She fears the latest
acquittals could "discourage other women from coming forward".
Asked what she thought of New
Zealand's justice system, she said:
"There is none. It's flawed big time." She did not regret taking
her failed court action against Mr Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum.
"I know I have done the right thing and if I had to do it all over again
I would not hesitate whatsoever."
Kim
McGregor of Rape Crisis said the complainant in this case would be
shattered by the result, after effectively having been put on trial herself.
Andrea
Black of Rape Crisis has no doubt the trial, or an earlier one
involving Louise Nicholas, would have turned out differently if the jury knew
about the convictions.
peterellis.org.nz comments: McGregor appears to
ignore the strong possibility that the complainant in the case was lying.
Innocent men deserve protection from complainants who are either mistaken or
are deliberately lying. Later news on March 2 is to prove that Andrea Black
is wrong. The jury did know about the convictions.
2007-0302 - Dominion Post -
Acquittals 'may put women off'
2007-0302 - Timaru Herald -
Nicholas 'gutted' by rape case acquittals
2007-0302 - NZ Herald - I did right
thing, says Nicholas
2007-0302 - NZ Herald -
Police verdicts spark vandalism at courthouse
2007-0302 - Newswire - Rape
Crisis Wants Juries Informed Of Previous Convictions
March 1 2007; Way clear for
report Police Conduct Commission of Inquiry
The
conclusion of the latest police sexual assault trial has cleared the way for
a three-year-old commission of inquiry into police conduct to report its
findings. It intends to report at the end of the month. The inquiry, headed
by former secretary of transport Dame Margaret Bazley, was charged with
examining how police responded to sexual assault allegations and whether the
people making them were treated appropriately. Mrs Nicholas had publicly
accused police of deliberately mishandling investigations of her complaints
of sexual assault against officers. The inquiry was later asked to look at
police culture as well, but was instructed not to deal with any allegations
that were the subject of criminal proceedings or active police
investigations.
2007-0301 - Newswire - Way Clear For
Police Conduct Inquiry’s Report
2007-0302 - Timaru Herald -
Police conduct report close
2007-0302 - Radio NZ -
Commission of Inquiry
2007-0302 - Dominion Post - Way
clear for conduct inquiry
|
