Some prisoners in Aotearoa are being kept in solitary confinement for a number of months and in some cases, years with the potential to contribute to long-lasting physical and psychological effects, a new report has found

The independent Office of the Inspectorate | Te Tari Tirohia found that between October 2020 and September 2021, more than 5000 prisoners, nearly a third of the prison population at that time, had been separated from the mainstream population for a range of reasons.

“We found that many of these prisoners would likely have experienced solitary confinement and some prisoners would have experienced this for a number of months or years,” chief inspector Janis Adair said.

A young man who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties will have his bid for name suppression heard by the highest court in the land.

On Thursday, three Supreme Court Justices released their decision, agreeing to hear his case.

They found the case raises “questions of general or public importance” relating to youth justice, rehabilitation and risk, and the principles of open justice.

“Given the particular combination of circumstances, [his] case is one of those rare, and exceptional cases, where leave to appeal should be granted,” they said.

Two men accused of smuggling meth-laced beer into New Zealand, allegedly resulting in a person’s death, are now facing additional charges.

Police have identified 328 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from a raid at a warehouse in Manukau where a shipment of kombucha bottles was found alongside pallets of Honey Bear House Beer.

A man aged in his 30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, now faces three new methamphetamine importation charges and one new charge of possession of cocaine for supply. All of the charges carry a maximum possible punishment of life imprisonment.

His 40-year-old co-defendant is jointly charged with cocaine supply.

In a brief but emotional court hearing, the driver of a truck that hit Kiwi child star Lionel “Doeboy” Allan has admitted causing his death.

Allan’s boss Wiremu Gray struck the 39-year-old former actor as he was walking on a West Auckland road in September 2022, killing him on the spot.

Gray, 42, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death in the Waitākere District Court on Wednesday, meaning the case will not go to trial.

A young woman cannot remember giving birth to a baby in a hospital bathroom before disposing of his body in a sanitary bin, a court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be identified, previously admitted concealing the dead body of a child.

The conception of the child is likely to have been a traumatic event which led to the woman not being able to remember, the court heard.

On Monday, she was granted permanent name suppression and was convicted and discharged at the Auckland District Court by Judge Stephen Bonnar.

Some prisoners at New Zealand’s only maximum security prison are being left locked in their cells for up to three days at a time – breaching human rights.

Lawyers, the Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International are concerned for the welfare of inmates at Auckland prison and are urging Corrections to address the issue.

A teenager who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties will ask the Supreme Court to hear his case, as he tries to keep his name secret.

The 19-year-old’s name suppression was due to be revoked on Friday at 2pm.

However, his lawyer, Emma Priest, has signalled she will be asking the highest court in the land to consider hearing the case.

A gang member who kidnapped a man, beat him and forced him to choose between getting shot in the leg or hands over drug money will be released from prison early.

Tremayne Jordan Salt, 26, was a member of the street gang DMS - Dope Money Sex when he and his brother took a man - whose father owed the gang drug money - hostage and beat him while his father listened over the phone.

Salt was charged with kidnapping and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in June 2017 and sentenced to eight years and two months imprisonment.

But in a recently released decision from the Court of Appeal, Salt has successfully reduced his prison sentence to six years.

Reading the news articles on the very sad Rose Cottage Superette killing has been very confronting. It must be unimaginable for the family of Janak Patel.

But I am also dismayed at speculation that the killing was caused by a failure of the criminal justice system. The idea is that somehow “getting tough on crime” would solve this.

I appreciate it’s an election year coming up but I must push back on the suggestion that a sentence of life imprisonment is a soft approach. I also note that the search for the offenders lasted about three days. Criminal justice and policing in New Zealand work, but they are neither a cause nor a solution. Only people who don’t commit crimes consider penalties to be a deterrent.

Elite Women 2022

Celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand’s top female legal talent

The New Zealand Law Society estimated that 71.8% of new law graduates would be female in 2021 – a huge transformation from the 26.3% recorded back in 1980.

Women are increasingly making a presence on the lists of powerful and influential lawyers.