A woman was unlawfully detained overnight by police because of a court "procedural error" when issuing an arrest warrant.
Holly Aileen Rolfe, 28, appeared in Napier District Court on Wednesday on a charge of driving a motor vehicle while forbidden, after having spent the previous night in police custody.
The duty solicitor representing Rolfe on the day asked for the matter to be heard before the court lunch break as a matter of urgency because it was a case of "unlawful detention".
The Ministry of Justice confirmed yesterday there had been a procedural error when issuing a warrant to arrest Rolfe for not appearing in court on the previous day.
"The court made a procedural error when issuing the warrant for arrest," the spokesperson said.