KEY POINTS:
The Law Commission is releasing a discussion paper today that reviews the extent to which courts should be told if a defendant has previous convictions.
Law Commission President Sir Geoffrey Palmer described the issue as technically complicated and controversial.
The disclosure of the defendants' previous convictions or misconduct to a jury has always been a difficult area of the law, he said.
The discussion paper also reviews any other allegations of similar offending by the accused, and any other evidence of the accused's bad character.
The move was sparked by public disquiet after high profile historic sex cases against former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, and Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards.
The men were acquitted by a jury on March 1 on charges of kidnapping and indecently assaulting a 16-year-old girl more than 20 years ago.
Last year, the same three men were acquitted of historic sex charges against Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas.
But while Mr Rickards walked free, Shipton and Schollum went back to prison, where they are serving sentences for the rape of a Mount Maunganui woman 18 years ago.
Their convictions were suppressed from the public and the jury in the latest cases and caused an outcry when court orders were lifted.
The paper puts forward a number of options for further reform and submissions on this topic close on February 15 next year.
- NZPA
