Court throws out bid for 'grand conspiracy' retrial

A man who won $10,000 compensation from police after proving he was wrongfully imprisoned over the killing of his pig has had his bid for a re-trial to hear his claims of a "grand conspiracy" rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Alwyn Keith Caie won his case in the High Court at Auckland in December 2000 after a 12-day hearing.

He was arrested on October 6, 1998, after police suspected he had breached the Arms Act. He was remanded in custody for 20 hours.

Justice Robert Fisher found police breached the Crimes Act and the Bill of Rights because they failed to give Mr Caie adequate reasons for his arrest.

Mr Caie told the Court of Appeal he wanted a rehearing to investigate a conspiracy involving numerous members of police, the legal profession - including his own former counsel whom he fell out with at trial - and the judiciary.

Mr Caie's submission to the Court of Appeal was a 600-page document titled Blue Filth and Corruption: They Must Be Stopped.

It featured the picture of a posse of cowboys on horseback outside the High Court at Auckland on its cover.

In a reserved decision released yesterday, Justices Robert Chambers, Lowell Goddard and Rodney Hansen said Mr Caie - who appeared for himself - had "entirely misunderstood" the nature of the Court of Appeal.

"Even if we thought it appropriate, this court has no jurisdiction to order the sort of wide-ranging inquiry into perjury and corruption that Mr Caie seeks.

"His entire appeal has miscued. In truth, the appeal raises scarcely any justiciable issues."

Mr Caie could not challenge Justice Fisher's ruling because it was in his favour, the Court of Appeal said, and ordered him to pay costs of $4000.

- NZPA