Almost a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded legal aid has been forked out in the last five years to those who “cannot afford a lawyer” - with just 5 per cent paid back.
Criminals granted public funds to fight their cases in court include the Mama Hooch rapist brothers and the South African doctor who murdered her three little girls at their Timaru home less than a month after emigrating to New Zealand.
The Ministry of Justice provided the Herald with details of legal aid paid and recovered under the Official Information Act.
From 2019 to October this year a total of $972,750,500 has been paid to lawyers representing people facing criminal charges or involved in Family or Civil Court matters.
Of that, just $55,570,099 has been repaid.
Legal aid is government funding to pay for legal help for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
According to the Ministry of Justice, legal aid is considered “an important part of New Zealand’s justice system” as it “makes sure that people are not denied justice because they can’t afford a lawyer”.
“Legal aid is considered a loan,” said Legal Services Commissioner Tracey Baguley.
“An applicant may have to repay some or all [of] their legal aid.
“This is dependent on how much they earn, what property they own, and whether they are awarded any money or property from their case.”
Baguley said recipients of legal aid are told from the outset about any repayment obligations.
“We use information supplied on the application form to calculate whether any amount is to be repaid,” she explained.
“We take into consideration the seriousness of the charges, any dependent children, amount of debt or any other exceptional circumstances.”
The total amount of finalised legal aid costs over the last five years - including GST - comes to $972,750,500.
The amount paid back across the same period is $55,570,099.
The amount of unrecovered debt totalled $113,428,838 as of October 31
And the amount of legal aid debt written off or deemed “non-repayable” is $609,043,437.
Baguley said legal aid may be deemed unrepayable for “a variety of reasons” including serious financial hardship or “just and equitable grounds” .
Those grounds could include the case being unreasonably delayed by the other party which increased the cost of the case or mental health issues that “that increased the cost of the case or affected your ability to repay the debt”.
Being found not guilty, suffering stress, being unhappy with the result of a case or thinking “legal aid was free” do not meet the criteria for a write off.
To have a legal aid bill written off a person has to make a formal application with supporting evidence.
While legal aid is generally for criminal court matters, it may be available for some family and civil disputes.
In September the Herald revealed that taxpayers had footed a legal aid bill of almost $900,000 for the defence of Mama Hooch rapist brothers Danny and Roberto Jaz.
The pair are appealing some of their convictions and their sentence so that total is expected to rise significantly in 2024.
The Sydney-born siblings were jailed in August after being convicted of 69 charges between them, including rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, stupefying, disabling, making intimate recordings of women without their knowledge or consent and supplying illicit drugs.
When their legal aid payout was revealed one of their victims slammed the system - saying the gulf in public funding for the defence compared to financial compensation and assistance for the victims left her feeling “disgusted”.
She called for the government to do more to help survivors like her.
In October the Herald reported that more than $709,000 had been granted in legal aid for triple murderer Lauren Dickason’s defence as of October 20.
Dickason admitted smothering Liané, 6, and 2-year-old twins Maya and Karla to death but denied charges of murder - mounting a defence of insanity or infanticide on the basis she was so mentally unwell at the time she could not be held fully responsible for her actions.
After an intense and exhaustive five-week trial in the High Court at Christchurch this year, a jury found Dickason guilty of three counts of murder.
In December, she will be sentenced to life in prison and Justice Cameron Mander will set a minimum non-parole period.
Her legal aid total did not include work done by her lawyers for that sentencing.
The total will also increase further if any appeals against her convictions and or sentence are mounted.
To date, Dickason’s legal aid costs include:
Dickason’s legal team spent a combined 1714.25 hours working on her defence.
Over the years, many high-profile offenders have received significant legal aid.
The Christchurch terrorist’s bill reached more than $392,000.
Jesse Kempson, who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane in Auckland after meeting her on a dating app, notched a total of $406,173.95 by the time his trial and appeals were finished.
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
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