Robert William Witehira

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Charge:	Assault (Including Battery)
Sentence:	9 months probation & 80 hrs community service
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2010
Year Convicted:	2013
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New Zealand
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Hamilton
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Robert William Witehira was wrongly convicted on September 10, 2013 of assaulting Sarah Hunter, a former partner near Hamilton, New Zealand on October 6, 2010. The prosecution alleged that Witehira used his motor vehicle as a weapon to strike Hunter's vehicle as she was driving at about 60 miles per hour between her home in Taupiri and Hamilton. Hunter was not injured. Witehira's defense was the event didn't happen. After the jury convicted Witehira, he was sentenced to serve nine months probation (supervised release) and perform 80 hours community work. The judge did not credit Witehira with the 40 days he had spent in jail, and the five months he spent on electronically monitored bail prior to his trial. Witehira appealed, alleging ineffective assistance of his trial lawyer for conducting his "trial on the basis of an incorrect view of the law, which affected decisions about the cross-examination of Ms Hunter, and whether Mr Witehira should give evidence." On April 14, 2016 New Zealand's Court of Appeal quashed Witehira's conviction on the basis his trial counsel had deprived him of a proper defense, and did not order a retrial."
Conviction Caused By:	Ineffective assistance of trial counsel
Innocence Proved By:	"On April 14, 2016 New Zealand's Court of Appeal quashed Witehira's conviction and did not order a retrial."
Defendant Aided By:
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Witehira v R [2016] NZCA 123 (14 April 2016) (Quashing conviction based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and not ordering a retrial.)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nzlii.org/cgi-bin/sinodisp/nz/cases/NZCA/2016/123.html?query=Robert%20Witehira
Information Source 2:	"Man's conviction, sentence quashed, By Staff, New Zealand Herald, April 14, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11622744
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Robert William Witehira

Charge:

Assault (Including Battery)

Sentence:

9 months probation & 80 hrs community service

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2010

Year Convicted:

2013

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Zealand

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Hamilton

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Ineffective assistance of trial counsel

Innocence Proved By:

"On April 14, 2016 New Zealand's Court of Appeal quashed Witehira's conviction and did not order a retrial."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Witehira v R [2016] NZCA 123 (14 April 2016) (Quashing conviction based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and not ordering a retrial.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nzlii.org/cgi-bin/sinodisp/nz/cases/NZCA/2016/123.html?query=Robert%20Witehira

Information Source 2:

"Man's conviction, sentence quashed, By Staff, New Zealand Herald, April 14, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11622744

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: