A common concern for our criminal law clients is whether their name and alleged offending will become known to their community and the wider public through media reporting.

When considering a name suppression application, the starting point is that the New Zealand courts uphold the principle of open justice and the threshold for obtaining name suppression is very high.

A Judge may make an order which forbids the publication of the name, address or occupation of someone who is charged with, convicted or acquitted of a criminal offence. To make such an order the Judge must be satisfied that if the details were published then one of the following grounds applies:

1. Likely to cause “extreme hardship” to the defendant or someone connected to the defendant;

2. Cast suspicion onto another person, which may cause undue hardship;

3. Cause undue hardship to the victim;

4. Create risk that the defendant will not receive a fair trial;

5. Endanger the safety of anyone;

6. Identify someone else who has name suppression;

7. Prejudice other functions of the law such as detecting other offences; or

8. Prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand. 

Examples of “extreme hardship” include that the client or their immediate family are likely to suffer irreparable reputation damage, loss of a job which supports their family or significant negative impact on mental health if their name is published. 

An example of endangering the safety of someone could be when the client has been accused of a crime that commonly attracts vigilante justice. In those cases, publishing the client’s name could put the client’s safety at risk. 

There is a commonly held perception that if someone is well-known, they will be a stronger candidate for name suppression. However, such individuals are still required to pass the high threshold just like everyone else and a high public profile often means that there is greater public interest which may elevate the competing consideration of the need for open justice.

Our office has significant experience successfully obtaining interim and permanent name suppression for clients facing different types of criminal charges.

However, it is important to remember that the large majority of criminal cases do not attract any media interest and therefore there is little need to consider an application for name suppression. Sometimes an application can be counter-productive as it can draw undue attention to a case that otherwise would never reach the public domain or it can serve to increase the level of public attention to a degree that is not in the client’s best interests. 

Because of the important tactical considerations associated with these types of applications, together with the high legal test that needs to be met, it is very important that you obtain sound legal advice from a trusted Auckland criminal lawyer before considering advancing an application for name suppression.