17 March 2025
James
Email: [FYI request #30083 email]
Tēnā koe Jeremy
Official information request for the costs of legal counsel involved in the prosecution of
Liz Gunn
Our Ref: OIA353/1
1.
I refer to your official information request to the New Zealand Police, dated
13 February 2025. You have asked for the following.
… the costs of legal counsel involved in the prosecution of Liz Gunn for the
Auckland Airport assault incident that was recently overturned by the High
[C]ourt.
This should include any outside counsel required for the High Court hearing.
Please provide total hours spent on the case by legal counsel.
2.
Police have transferred part of your request, relating to the costs incurred by
counsel in the “High Court hearing” of Ms Gunn’s prosecution, to us for response.
Clarification and background information
3.
For the avoidance of doubt, although you have asked for the “costs of legal counsel
involved in the prosecution”, we can only provide information we hold, which
relates to the work conducted by Crown Solicitors on behalf of Crown Law.
4.
Our records indicate there were two High Court appeals relating to the
prosecution of Liz Gunn (legal name Elizabeth Jane Cooney).
4.1
CRI-2024-404-000301 (
Cooney v New Zealand Police [2024] NZHC 2562):
Ms Gunn’s appeal to the High Court against a guilty finding in [2024] NZDC
10363 in circumstances where the District Court had not at that point
entered a conviction.
4.2
CRI-2024-404-000686 (
Cooney v New Zealand Police [2025] NZHC 160):
Ms Gunn’s appeal to the High Court against conviction in [2024] NZDC
10363.
Costs of legal counsel
5.
Crown Solicitors have operated in a bulk funding environment since 1 July 2013,
and under the bulk funding model do not invoice Crown Law for individual cases
Level 2 Justice
Centre, 19 Aitken Street, Wellington 6011 | PO Box 2858 or DX SP20208, Wellington 6140, New Zealand | +64 4 472 1719 | crownlaw.govt.nz
8415950_8
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given they are not remunerated on an hourly basis. Therefore, it is not possible to
identify the ‘cost’ of the work conducted by Crown Solicitors in relation to your
request.
6.
We can advise however, since assuming responsibility for Ms Gunn’s two High
Court appeals, the office of the Crown Solicitor at Manukau has reported a total
of
49.4 hours on these appeals to date.
Further breakdown of hours by stage of proceeding and prosecutor classification
7.
Total hours spent on a proceeding can be further broken down by the level of
prosecutor working on the proceeding, and the ‘stage’ of the proceeding at which
those hours were accumulated. In this case, that is as follows.
CRI-2024-404-000301 – High Court appeal against a guilty finding
Table 1: Hours by reference to prosecutor classification
Prosecutor classification
Hours dedicated
Junior
18.4
Intermediate
0
Senior
13.3
Principal
0
Total:
31.7
Table 2: Hours by reference to stage of proceeding
Stage of proceeding
Hours dedicated
Interlocutory
0
Hearing
29.3
Post-hearing
2.4
Total:
31.7
CRI-2024-404-000686 – High Court appeal against conviction
Table 3: Hours by reference to prosecutor classification
Prosecutor classification
Hours dedicated
Junior
10.1
Intermediate
1.1
Senior
6.5
Principal
0
Total:
17.7
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Table 4: Hours by reference to stage of proceeding
Stage of proceeding
Hours dedicated
Interlocutory
0
Hearing
17.7
Post-hearing
0
Total:
17.7
Proactive release
8.
Please note that we may publish this response (with your personal details
redacted), and any related documents, on Crown Law’s website if we decide
proactive release of this information is or may be in the public interest. If you have
any concerns about this, please let us know within 10 working days of the date of
this letter.
Right to seek investigation and review
9.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
10.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Crown Law
Philip Coffey
Manager, Public Prosecutions Unit
8415950_8
