Top lawyers needed to help with criminal cases review, says judge

Retired High Court judge Sir Thomas Thorp. Photo / Martin Sykes

The judge who may come to be seen as the father of a criminal cases review commission announced by the new Government is calling on top lawyers to lend a hand.

Retired High Court judge Sir Thomas Thorp is pleased by the Government's indication but also anxious.

"Oh yes. I think I have probably had about three ideas in my life and none of them have come off! It would be nice to get one."

Sir Thomas, 92, called for such a body in 2006 following a two-year study. He concluded that up to 20 inmates could be wrongly imprisoned.

He is anxious because, "we have come close at various times and something has intervened". He is also anxious that a commission to look into miscarriage of justice claims is properly set up and resourced.

His review, conducted 15 years ago, involved an examination of alleged miscarriages of justice in New Zealand and a self-funded trip to assess case review commissions in Scotland and England.

As first reported by the Herald, he concluded there were significant shortcomings in our review systems and the incidence of miscarriages of justice were underestimated.

Thorp hopes top-level criminal barristers will become involved to lend leadership and credibility to the planned commission.

The UK legal profession seemed to produce top senior criminal barristers prepared to work pro-bono for good causes, he said. "I'm not altogether sure whether New Zealand has the same number."

Pay rates would not compare to what could otherwise be earned. "They will be needed. You have to have good people working on these things."

"I think we have enough [quality] people. They have been brought up in a high-money climate here and if you engaged them at market rates it would be considerable. And that's not the case in England and in Scotland.

"We will have to somehow get together a gang of generous and like-minded people prepared to spend some small part of their time on this work."

Thorp recommends Scotland's commission as a model. It was effective and the cost was "quite bearable".

"In my view it wouldn't be more than the large sums they have to pay to the odd blokes who do get cleared here.

"It is viable. I won't see it but it has to be worked out and initially nursed along and it can be," said Thorp. "I hope it is properly organised. It would be awful if it's not."

Thorp reviewed the David Bain and Peter Ellis cases for the Government.

Despite individual MPs and a Justice and Law Reform Committee being in favour of an independent review body, it was not supported by the previous National or Labour Governments.

Despite the example of Teina Pora, whose convictions were quashed by the Privy Council in London, former Justice Ministers Judith Collins and Amy Adams saw no need for an additional safeguard.

Andrew Little, the new Minister of Justice, has in the past advocated for such a body and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signalled her support during the Pora miscarriage case.