IN THE Supreme court OF new Zealand

I TE KŌTI MANA NUI	
 SC 51/2019
 [2019] NZSC 90	

	
BETWEEN	
LANCE PHILLIP NEWING 
Applicant 	
	
AND	
NEW ZEALAND POLICE
Respondent

Court:	
Glazebrook, O’Regan and Ellen France JJ 	

Counsel:	
C Mitchell for Applicant
K L Kensington for Respondent	

Judgment:	
22 August 2019 	

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
____________________________________________________________________

REASONS
Introduction
[1]	Mr Newing pleaded guilty to driving with excess breath alcohol.  He unsuccessfully sought a discharge without conviction and was convicted, fined and disqualified from driving by the Community Magistrate.  The discharge was sought on the basis of the effect a conviction would have on his employment.
[2]	Mr Newing appealed unsuccessfully against the decision declining a discharge without conviction to the District Court.  Mr Newing’s subsequent application for leave to appeal to the High Court was dismissed by that Court.  He now seeks leave to appeal to this Court direct from the decision of the District Court.  
The proposed appeal
[3]	Mr Newing seeks leave to appeal directly from the decision of the District Court because the High Court’s decision to decline leave is final.  As the respondent submits, there is a question whether this Court has jurisdiction to hear a direct appeal in this case.  That question arises because the appeal to this Court would be a second appeal and the relevant provisions state that the only second appeal court is the High Court.  However, we do not need to decide this point because there are no exceptional circumstances that would justify a direct appeal.
[4]	The proposed appeal would not challenge the principles applied by the Courts below.  Rather, the appeal would be fact specific.  No questions of general or public importance arise.  Nor does anything raised by Mr Newing give rise to the appearance of a miscarriage of justice.  The offending was treated as moderately serious reflecting the excess breath alcohol level (707 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath) and the fact Mr Newing was stopped because he was speeding and failed to stop at a red traffic light.  The evidence as to the consequences of a conviction on which Mr Newing seeks to rely, which was not before the District Court, was considered by the High Court in declining leave.
[5]	The application for leave to appeal is accordingly dismissed.

Solicitors:
Crown Law Office, Wellington for Respondent