KEY POINTS:
Champion jockey Lisa Cropp has again extended her long-running drugs case following a decision by the Supreme Court to grant her leave to appeal an earlier decision.
Cropp, who has recently been in top riding form, tested positive to methamphetamine in a urine sample taken in a random test at a race meeting in Hamilton on May 7, 2005. She has been fighting a legal battle ever since.
A hearing by racing's Judicial Control Authority (JCA) was interrupted in February after her lawyers sought a judicial review through the court system to argue that the drug test was unlawful.
Justice Pamela Andrews dismissed Cropp's case against the judicial committee in the High Court, and her decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on September 27.
She then went to the Supreme Court, which today released a decision saying leave to appeal was granted.
Lawyer Barry Hart has maintained there are legal issues surrounding the fundamental rights of people when faced with random testing and argues Cropp has a legitimate case.
Cropp was ordered to pay costs of $6000 after the Court of Appeal ruling.
She has continued to ride since the positive test was confirmed and has consistently been among the most successful jockeys in the country.
- NZPA
