Case Study

Our client was said to have entered his ex-partner’s house without consent, assaulted her, damaged the property, and taken her car before returning it. The complainant also alleged that he was harassing her following their break up. Our client strongly denied the allegations with his version of events differing. The Crown would not withdraw the charges and it went to jury trial at Auckland District Court.

Our client was a young man without any previous convictions or criminal history. If convicted, this would be life-changing and not only could it affect future employment, but could also impact the way friends, family and others perceive him for the rest of his life.

In a ‘he said, she said’ trial like this, credibility is important. The Bloem Law team spent many hours preparing all aspects of the trial. Our team went through the complainant’s evidence, identified any inconsistencies and highlighted these for the jury (to demonstrate that the complainant was not a credible witness). On the face of it, the complainant seemed believable and it could be hard for a jury to imagine that they would lie, or to believe that they would have a motive to falsely accuse our client.

We enlisted a Private Investigator to find and speak to an independent witness who had seen some of the events. Their recollection more closely aligned with our client’s version of events, so we called them as a witness. Ultimately the jury were convinced that the allegations could not be believed and our client was found not guilty for all five charges.

This was an excellent result for our client and demonstrates how having a defence team who have a robust strategy, engage experts and know the case in and out, is critical.