David Bain
David Bain's case against Justice Minister Judith
Collin's handling of his bid for compensation will be back in
court in July.
Lawyers for Mr Bain and the Crown took part in a telephone
conference with Justice Patrick Keane in the High Court at
Auckland this morning.
Mr Bain is seeking a judicial review into how Ms Collins
handled the report from former Canadian Supreme Court judge
Ian Binnie.
The claim includes allegations Ms Collins breached Mr Bain's
rights to natural justice and his rights under the New
Zealand Bill of Rights Act, acted in bad faith, abused her
power, and acted in a biased, unreasonable and predetermined
manner.
It is understood that while the substantive matter is set
down for July, lawyers will be back in court next month to
decide whether the matter will be heard in Auckland or
Wellington.
Mr Bain was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his parents, two
sisters and a brother after serving 13 years in prison.
He has applied for compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
Compensation payments are at the discretion of Cabinet.
Justice Binnie's report found that on the balance of
probabilities Mr Bain was innocent of the murders and had
been wrongfully imprisoned.
Ms Collins had the report peer reviewed by former New Zealand
High Court judge Robert Fisher, who found inaccuracies.
A spokeswoman for Ms Collins said the minister would not
comment on the case while it is before the courts.
A spokeswoman from Crown Law also declined to comment.
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