What will happen if the alleged infringer on an infringement notice, issued under the Land Transport Act 1998, issued by the NZ Police, choose to request a court hearing?
Sophie made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police
The request was partially successful.
From: Sophie
Dear New Zealand Police,
I have a few questions regarding what will happen if the alleged infringer on an infringement notice, issued under the Land Transport Act 1998, issued by the NZ Police, choose to request a court hearing.
1. What kind and what level of court/tribunal will the hearing be held at? What will be the initial court filing cost for the alleged infringer on the infringement notice?
2. Will it be a generalist court or a specialist court? If it will be a specialist court, what specialist area of the court will that be?
3. Will it be a criminal case or a civil case?
4. Will the case prosecutor’s (Police’s) claimed amount of money and other claims be as same as the infringement fee payable and any other claim on the infringement notice?
5. If the respondent (alleged infringer) is convicted, can the new infringement fee payable become more than the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement ticket?
6. If the respondent is convicted, will there be a criminal record left on the respondent’s criminal record?
7. If the respondent is convicted, what will be any other court cost that the respondent will need to pay for?
8. After the case is filed to the court, can the respondent choose to close the filed case and pay for the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice?
If the respondent can choose to close the filed case, what other cost besides the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice will need to be paid?
9. If the respondent choose to close the filed case and pay for the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice, will there be a criminal record left on the respondent’s criminal record?
Regards
Sophie
From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe Sophie
I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (OIA) request below, received by New Zealand Police on 12 October 2021.
Your request is being actioned pursuant to the OIA. You can expect a response to your request on or before 10 November 2021.
Kind regards, Michelle
Ministerial Services PNHQ
-----Original Message-----
From: Sophie <[FOI #17148 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 12 October 2021 12:09 AM
To: Ministerial Services <[New Zealand Police request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - What will happen if the alleged infringer on an infringement notice, issued under the Land Transport Act 1998, issued by the NZ Police, choose to request a court hearing?
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Dear New Zealand Police,
I have a few questions regarding what will happen if the alleged infringer on an infringement notice, issued under the Land Transport Act 1998, issued by the NZ Police, choose to request a court hearing.
1. What kind and what level of court/tribunal will the hearing be held at? What will be the initial court filing cost for the alleged infringer on the infringement notice?
2. Will it be a generalist court or a specialist court? If it will be a specialist court, what specialist area of the court will that be?
3. Will it be a criminal case or a civil case?
4. Will the case prosecutor’s (Police’s) claimed amount of money and other claims be as same as the infringement fee payable and any other claim on the infringement notice?
5. If the respondent (alleged infringer) is convicted, can the new infringement fee payable become more than the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement ticket?
6. If the respondent is convicted, will there be a criminal record left on the respondent’s criminal record?
7. If the respondent is convicted, what will be any other court cost that the respondent will need to pay for?
8. After the case is filed to the court, can the respondent choose to close the filed case and pay for the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice?
If the respondent can choose to close the filed case, what other cost besides the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice will need to be paid?
9. If the respondent choose to close the filed case and pay for the infringement fee payable specified on the infringement notice, will there be a criminal record left on the respondent’s criminal record?
Regards
Sophie
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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe Sophie
Please find attached the response to your Official Information Act
request, received by New Zealand Police on 12 October 2021.
Ngā mihi,
Penni
Penni Davenport | Senior Advisor | Ministerial Services
Strategy & Partnerships |PNHQ
===============================================================
WARNING
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addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents.
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[User 7569 name removed] (Account suspended) left an annotation ()
You are highly unlikely to receive the response you are after from Police because it is not a request for official information.
However, I can see that the information is important to you and so I am going to answer your questions for you.
In doing so, I am making an assumption that you have been issued an infringement notice for an offence under the Land Transport Act 1998 and associated regulations (eg. A speeding ticket).
1. The court hearing would be at the closest District Court. The allegation is made by Police and so there are no filing fees for the person who has received the infringement notice (the defendant).
2. They are usually held in a general court room. They can be presided over by a Magistrate or two Justices of the Peace. Rarely will it be in front of a District Court Judge.
3. It will be a criminal case, the Police will need to prove all elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
4. If found guilty, the court will impose a fine. It is likely to match the infringement fee. For example, if found guilty of a $30 speeding ticket, the court will likely impose a $30 fine (however, please see my answer at 7)
5. As stated above, it is unlikely to be anything more than the infringement fee.
6. No. These are infringement offences. They are criminal proceedings in the sense that there is an allegation made by Police and it must be proved to the criminal standard, but no conviction is entered on the defendants criminal record.
7. Court costs are usually $30 and will only be imposed if you are found guilty.
This will be added to any fine that is imposed by the court.
8. No. However, you can accept guilt or simply not show up at the hearing (in which case you are almost certain to be found guilty).
If you do that, you are likely to be fined the infringement fee plus court costs of $30.
However, you can make submissions as to penalty. For example, you could tell the court that you are struggling to pay the fee.
9. No.
I hope this helps you. If there is an element of the infringement you do not agree with, remember that you can write to the enforcement authority (eg. police) and explain that first and see if they are willing to waive the fee.
If not, for $30 it can be worthwhile making that argument to an independent and impartial court. If you would like to do so, but still feel unsure then feel free to get in touch through this website. The court process is not as daunting as people make out.
All the best!
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