Infamous criminal and "jailhouse lawyer" Arthur Taylor, who successfully argued a ban on prisoners voting was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. Photo / File
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from the Crown over whether a ban on prisoners voting is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
In 2010 Parliament passed a law banning all prisoners from voting in elections. That was a step up from the previous legislation which
allowed prisoners to vote if they were serving terms of less than three years.
But in 2015, notorious career criminal and self-styled "jailhouse lawyer" Arthur William Taylor fought the case in the High Court, along with four inmates from Christchurch Women's Prison.
The High Court did not overturn the ban, but did declare the ban was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act because it infringed on the rights of New Zealand citizens to vote.
Under New Zealand legislation, the High Court's declaration does not force Parliament to remove the ban - it merely highlights an inconsistency in the law.
