Matt and Ciara appeared at Auckland District Court for a pre-trial challenge to a search warrant executed at their client, OW’s home.

The Police attended OW’s address to locate a suspect, AB on the run who they believed was residing at OW’s address. The Police entered the house on suspicion the suspect was present – albeit, he wasn’t – and instead, found a small quantity of meth they believed belonged to OW.

At the hearing, three Police officers were called to give evidence and were cross-examined by Matt. They admitted that OW explained that AB had stayed there before and provided details of AB’s work address.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge decided the search warrant was lawfully executed in terms of the invocation of the powers under both s 7 and s 20 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.

A Notice of Appeal has been filed with the Court of Appeal against this ruling, we are now awaiting allocation of a hearing date.

Recent News

Not Guilty at Judge Alone Trial- Receiving property over $1000

After two years of going through the court system, a client was found not guilty at judge alone trial under the assistance of Spencer, who successfully convinced the judge that there was reasonable doubt in the client being reckless in receiving the stolen property.

Successful review for Diversion

A client was declined entry into the Diversion programme- a Police led initiative which may allow first time offenders to do self-improvement courses instead of receiving a conviction.

Spencer successfully led the client through the right to review process, having the Police reconsider their decision and offer Diversion to her after all.

STAFF NEWS

We are happy to advise that our law clerk, Spencer Wells, has recently been admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court.

He has now begun his role within Goodwin Law as a junior barrister, and we look forward to watching his development.

STAFF NEWS

We advise that after close to 5 years working at Goodwin Law, Ciara Chester-Cronin has left the practice, effective from 4 April 2025. We wish her all the best with her future endeavours.

We are pleased to announce that Ciara will be replaced by another successful criminal lawyer, who commences on 12 April (details to be announced shortly). Our law clerk Spencer Wells, who has worked for the practice for 3 years, moves into a fulltime role as a junior following his admission to the Bar on 23 May.

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