Jamie Foster was convicted of indecent assault and sexual violation, and lost his appeal - but is now seeking for the Supreme Court to reconsider his case. Photo / Sam Hurley
Jamie Foster was convicted of indecent assault and sexual violation, and lost his appeal - but is now seeking for the Supreme Court to reconsider his case. Photo / Sam Hurley
Former policeman Jamie Foster is looking to take his appeal to the Supreme Court over his conviction for raping a fellow police officer.
And his mother, Jackie Foster, is speaking out against what she calls a failed justice system, an unprepared Court of Appeal, and a process that has left her exasperated.
Jamie Foster was jailed for six years following a high-profile case last year, where he was convicted of indecent assault and sexually violation at a Kerikeri motel following a night of socialising and drinking.
The North Shore officer was part of a group deployed to help police the 2019 Waitangi Day events at the Treaty Grounds, whose collective actions and lewd behaviour caused embarrassment and questions over police culture.
The victim, also a police officer, says she was groped when she found herself alone at the motel with Foster. Later that night he entered her room and she told the jury she woke up to him sexually violating her.
She took a video on her phone after the interaction in which she can be heard telling Foster: "I've denied you earlier, and I've woken up to you ******* me."
Foster claimed he went to her room at her invitation and the interaction was consensual, and only stopped because she had a change of heart. She then falsely accused him to protect her job and reputation.
After he learned of the unanimous guilty verdicts, he screamed in the courtroom: "It's ******* not fair! ... ******* bull****!
He then launched an appeal in November last year, challenging the inadmissibility of certain evidence and claiming the prosecution had used inflammatory and inappropriate language - such as the term "helped himself".
Jamie Foster leaving Auckland District Court in 2019. He was found guilty of indecent assault and sexual violation. Photo / Doug Sherring
The Court of Appeal, in its decision last month, agreed with aspects of Foster's case for a miscarriage of justice, but was "not satisfied there is a reasonable possibility" that other verdicts would have been reached.
But Jackie Foster told the Herald the Court of Appeal judges were unprepared, having not looked at all of the material their lawyer sent through three weeks before the hearing - 51 pages of submissions, a USB stick with video footage and a 145-page memorandum of material.
"About an hour and a half into our hearing, Justice Courtney admitted they did not have the memorandum or the USB sticks. Despite multiple references to it in all other documentation, Justice Courtney, Justice Mander and Justice Woolford had not read all of the documentation required for the hearing that our lawyer had prepared.
"As a mother, I could not believe how unprepared our Court of Appeal was. Surely you would know that there was material that you needed to read before an appeal? I could hear our 60-plus supporters in the room sighing and in complete shock."
A spokesperson for the Court of Appeal said an unfortunate "administrative error" had occurred, and the materials were re-sent to the judges just after 11.30am.
Paul Borich QC, Foster's lawyer, was offered a chance to adjourn the appeal to another day, or to continue after the panel considered the materal over a lunch break.
"Mr Borich took instructions and advised that Mr Foster wished to continue the hearing that day," the spokesperson said.
The central issue in Foster's case remains certain evidence, which Jackie Foster claimed was wrongly deemed inadmissible.
"The jury definitely does not hear all the evidence they should hear. Therefore, it is impossible for them to make an informed decision based on all the facts."
Borich has now filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court.
The court will consider submissions from both sides and then decide if there is a case to be heard.
Foster said she no longer wanted to keep silent about what she called a "one-sided" system.
"Until you are subject to it yourself, no one in New Zealand really knows what goes on at a criminal trial.
"My son is an innocent man rotting in prison – both the justice system and the New Zealand Police have failed him and my family. We will never stop fighting for Jamie's innocence."
