Man made increasingly violent threats against partner, went to jail, tried to sue judges. Photo / File
Man made increasingly violent threats against partner, went to jail, tried to sue judges. Photo / File
A man jailed after sending his ex-partner a relentless barrage of increasingly violent threats has failed in a bid to sue two judges and a lawyer involved in his case.
A High Court decision dismissing his complaints is the latest in a series of appeals and legal moves by the man, who is serving a six-year prison term.
The names of the man and his ex-partner, who has a child by him, have been suppressed. He is identified in court documents as PN.
PN's partner returned from Australia, where they were living, to be with her family after the couple separated in 2016.
Court documents say that he began to send her texts, emails and Facebook messages "of an increasingly violent nature", threatening to kill or injure her and members of her family.
PN said he would hunt her down and kill her or shoot her with arrows, cut her open, cut off her foot, or slice or burn her face for the "destruction of your prettiness".
He said he would post the results on social media so friends could see what he had done.
In 2017, PN arrived in New Zealand and texted and called his ex-partner to say he was in the country. She contacted police.
In October 2017, the Armed Offenders Squad intercepted PN at gunpoint on the outskirts of Napier. In his campervan, they found a knife, a machete and a crossbow with arrows.
In November 2018, after a five-day judge-alone trial, PN was found guilty of five charges of threatening to kill, three of threatening to do grievous bodily harm and three of possessing offensive weapons.
He was sentenced to six years in prison, with a minimum non-parole period of three years and eight months, meaning he cannot be released before June this year.
PN represented himself at his district court trial and subsequently made a number of appeals against his conviction and sentence. All were unsuccessful.
Justice Cheryl Gwyn, who decided against the man in his latest action, said his appeals had not only challenged the judge's findings made but made "allegations of impropriety against various participants within the criminal justice system".
Justice Cheryl Gwyn struck out the man's claims against the judges. Photo / NZME
In the latest action, PN filed proceedings in the High Court under the Bill of RIghts Act and the Judicial Review Procedure Act making allegations against Judge Peter Rollo and Judge Tony Adeane - who had been involved in his case - and a lawyer.
He alleged that on the day he expected his District Court trial to begin, he found out that he would be facing a pre-trial hearing in which he was unprepared and "ambushed" when police introduced new evidence.
He also alleged that a lawyer appointed by the court had advised him to file for a judicial review.
He was not advised that a District Court had no jurisdiction to hear a judicial review until he next appeared in court. He said the judge and the lawyer had tried to deceive him with a "fake High Court judicial review".
Justice Gwyn found that judges have immunity from being sued under civil law for acts done in their official capacity. She also said that an appointed lawyer was not subject to the Judicial Review Procedure Act.
