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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs |
Sentence: |
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Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2014 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New Zealand |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
Auckland |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Scott Perry was wrongly convicted on July 23, 2015 of driving drunk on August 20, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. A little after 9 p.m. a police officer saw Perry sitting in his car drinking a can of Cody's bourbon. The key was in the ignition and Perry was listening to the radio. Perry told the police officer he had not been driving, but he put the key in the ignition to listen to the radio while waiting to be picked up by his girlfriend who lived about 550 years from where his car was parked. On December 1, 2014 New Zealand lowered the legal alcohol limit to .025 - with up to .04 a misdemeanor, and over that a felony. The officer's breathalyzer test of Perry detected a .0879 alcohol level. Perry was arrested. During Perry's trial the prosecution's only witness was the aresting officer. The officer testified that Perry admitted drinking while he was parked, and to the procedure of conducting the positive breathalyzer test. Perry testified that he parked his car around 6 p.m. and had a number of drinks at a friends residence. He said that before he left he called his girlfriend to pick him up at his car. He admitted drinking a Cody's while waiting in his car listening to the radio. Perry's testimony was corroborated by his girlfriend who testified that he called her and asked her to pick him up at his car, and she testified that when she arrived he wasn't in his car, and she became concerned because his phone and tobacco were in the car. After talking to her father she called Emergency 111 (911 in the U.S.) and reported that Perry was missing. The prosecution admitted the 111 call was made. After a bench trial the judge found Perry guilty of driving drunk. Perry appealed. On November 12, 2015 New Zealand's High Court quashed Perry's conviction on the basis the trial evidence proves that a "reasonable possibility that remains is that Mr Perry did stop his car at the parking area and go with his friend to consume alcohol. He was returned to his car having telephoned Ms Weiber to come and collect him." The Court did not order a retrial." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On November 12, 2015 New Zealand's High Court quashed Perry's conviction on the basis the trial evidence proves that a "reasonable possibility that remains is that Mr Perry did stop his car at the parking area and go with his friend to consume alcohol. He was returned to his car having telephoned Ms Weiber to come and collect him." The Court did not order a retrial." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
Perry v Police [2015] NZHC 2810 (12 November 2015) |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZHC/2015/2810.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Conviction quashed for Cody's driver, By Patrice Dougan, The New Zealand Herald, November 17, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11546719 |
Information Source 3: |
"Consequences of the new drink-driving limits for NZ employers, www.cavell.co.nz" |
Information Location 3: |
https://cavell.co.nz/articles/2014/consequences-of-the-new-drink-driving-limits-for-n |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org