Supreme Court at Wellington.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The lawyer for a man appealing an aggravated robbery charge in the Supreme Court says his case raises deep questions about the limits of police powers, privacy, and fundamental human rights.
Mahia Tamiefuna was convicted of the charge in 2021, and central to the case was a photo that was taken of him illegally by a police officer.
Tamiefuna was the passenger in a car which was randomly stopped and his photo was taken while the occupants were standing on the side of the road as the vehicle was impounded.
The photo was then allowed to be used in court in the successful conviction.
That evidence was the “lynch pin” that the entire case against Tamiefuna was based on, his attorney Susan Gray said.
The Supreme Court is looking at whether the Court of Appeal was right to find the photo of Tamiefuna was “improperly obtained”, and whether that court was correct to allow it as evidence anyway.
But the case could have sweeping implications.
A decision could settle whether police are allowed to photograph members of the public on the street who are not being targeted for a specific crime.
