Two former police officers accused of obstructing justice in an investigation which led to the wrongful conviction of Alan Hall in the 1980s have been found not guilty.

The men, whose names are suppressed, have been on trial in the High Court at Auckland charged with wilfully attempting to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice.

A third former defendant has since died.

Justice Ian Gault delivered the decision on Wednesday morning. The men's interim name suppression is extended while the court considers an application for permanent name suppression.

Hall spent 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering Arthur Easton, who was killed during a home invasion by a man wielding a bayonet.

The decision was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2022 after it found a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred.

Assistant Police Commissioner Corrie Parnell acknowledged the two families who have been seeking justice for decades - the Hall family and the Easton family.

"This decision brings an end to criminal proceedings and Police stand by our decision to put this case before the courts," Parnell said.

He said since the Supreme Court acquitted Hall in 2022, the onus has been on the entire justice system to find out how the substantial miscarriage of justice happened.

"It is our view after a thorough investigation decades later that there was an end-to-end Justice system failure, but we also recognised that individuals responsible for key steps in the case played a critical role and that needed to be answered in the courts," Parnell said.

He said police accepted that they had a part to play in the failure.

"While legislation, systems and processes in the Justice sector have advanced in the decades since this case was first prosecuted, we acknowledge the Hall family have been left waiting for answers for a long time," Parnell said.

A report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority into the case is yet to be released.