Convicted murderer Phillip John Smith has lost the right to wear a hairpiece in prison after the Court of Appeal ruled the Bill of Rights did not apply.
Smith, who was convicted of killing the father of a boy he molested, had previously won a $3500 government payout after he won a court case centred around his toupee.
Hearings began last year when Corrections took away his hairpiece after he used it to disguise himself when he fled to Brazil while on temporary release in 2014.
Smith had argued successfully in the High Court in March that it was a breach of his human rights.
Justice Edwin Wylie last year said Corrections had ignored Smith's "fundamental right to freedom of expression".
However, the Crown appealed - and in a decision released today the Court of Appeal disagreed with the lower court's ruling.
"We conclude that Mr Smith's wish to wear a wig did not engage the right to freedom of expression affirmed by section 14 of the Act," the Court of Appeal said.
However, the prison does not intend to revoke the permission for Smith to wear the wig again, stating there was no longer a dispute of right between the parties.
Phillip John Smith, wearing his wig, was convicted of killing the father of the boy he molested. Photo / Supplied
Background:
Smith, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, paedophile offending, aggravated burglary and kidnapping in 1996.
He had molested a 13-year-old boy over a three-year period, and later stabbed the boy's father to death.
He was given a minimum non-parole period of 13 years. He has sought, but been denied, parole.
In 2001 Smith began to lose his hair. Medical treatments were unavailing. In 2012 he sought approval from the prison manager at Auckland Prison to be permitted to possess and wear a wig.
A psychological assessment supported his claim that it would improve his self-esteem and confidence, and aid his rehabilitation.
Smith later received a custom-made wig in April 2013.
On November 6, 2014, Smith was released for three days, but then fled the country by boarding a flight to Santiago, then another to Rio de Janeiro.
Six days later he was arrested. He was deported and returned to Auckland Prison on November 29, 2014.
Smith's hairpiece hearings began in March last year.
He said the days after he was returned to custody were among the lowest in his life because newspapers ran pictures of him appearing bald on their front pages.
