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Police have lodged papers in the High Court for permission to charge Mangere MP Taito Phillip Field with 15 bribery and corruption-related offences and a historic hearing is set to take place in less than two weeks.
The earlier-than-expected filing of the papers is the first step in what could be a lengthy argument over whether the High Court should grant permission for charges to be laid against the independent MP.
The number of charges is also one more than was expected.
Lawyers will argue at a hearing on June 20 just what was intended when Parliament passed a law in 1961 that the High Court's permission must be gained before bribery and corruption charges could be laid against an MP.
Several legal commentators have already suggested gaining that permission should be little more than a formality, but because there is no precedent that remains unclear.
Many believe the requirement for court permission was intended to guard against politically motivated prosecutions of MPs.
Crown prosecutor David Johnstone yesterday confirmed the Crown would argue that way, and that there is no need at that point of the legal process to actually test the evidence that police have against Mr Field.
Whether Mr Field's legal team argues differently has yet to be decided. The MP, who resigned from Labour in February, was under investigation for eight months before police announced late last month that they would pursue charges against him.
It is the first time charges have been laid under the section of the Crimes Act on bribery and corruption involving MPs.
Asked where the additional charge came from, Mr Johnstone would say only that it was a "complex" case.
