That means there could be more decisions being made by judges such Phillippa Cunningham, who decided not to convict the younger son of the Maori King of several crimes because a criminal record would ruin his chances of succeeding to the throne.
Korotangi Paki, the 19-year-old son of Maori King Tuheitea Paki, had previously pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, theft and drink-driving.
Defence lawyer Paul Wicks QC told Auckland District Court Paki could succeed his father to the Maori throne only with a clean record.
The judge said she was "driven to the conclusion" that Mr Paki would lose out on being a successor to the "crown" if he was convicted.
"There's only two sons and in my view it's important that the king at the appropriate time has the widest possible choice of a successor and it's important for Mr Paki, as one of those two sons, to have the potential to be a successor in time."
Wikipedia says that in the first instance the eldest son or daughter becomes the monarch.
Korotangi Paki, as the second son, is behind is elder brother in the succession stakes and is reportedly not the slightest bit interested in the position.
Secondly, according to Wikipedia, the Maori kingship is not hereditary, and the monarch is appointed by the leaders of the tribes involved in the Kingitanga movement.
It has become cognatically primogenitural - being passed on to a relative - but a bad egg could be ignored and a new, unrelated king elected.
As a foreigner, I cannot understand how so many Kiwis - particularly the media - fail to understand that the Maori King does not represent all tribes. He, or when there is a Queen she, represents several major tribes and not the whole of Maoridom. There are many Maori I know who want nothing to do with the King Movement.
Former Maori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels is reported to have said the decision made a mockery of the judicial system.
And who could disagree with that?
Mr Samuels reckoned the issue was one of status not race.
He said if a Maori youth in Tai Tokerau had committed the offences they would have gone to jail.
This is not the first time Paki's been in trouble with the law. In 2011, he was involved in a boyracer crash in Waikato. Police laid charges but it is unknown if Paki was ever convicted.
Doesn't he sound like the perfect person to be given a royal position?
Following this latest case, there has been a major stirring of discontent online, particularly after Paki wrote "Seig Heil" and derogatory comments about Asians.
How charming.
Needless to say some minder has cleaned up that mess, too, by disabling the Facebook page.
Prime Minister John Key did his best David Cunliffe impression with an avoidance of the case's decision.
Mind you, he probably said enough by adding no one is above the law as long as the court system treats everyone equally.
Hear, hear, I say.
Judges need to stop treating some sections of this society with kid gloves.
They should treat everyone the same and not accept lame excuses when sentencing people guilty of crimes.
I'm hoping there will be an appeal against the decision and Paki will be convicted and dealt with as others would.
Richard Moore is an award-winning Western Bay journalist and photographer.
richard@richardmoore.com
