Colin Maurice Nicholson (21 June 1936 – 31 October 2015) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as a judge of the
High Court of New Zealand
The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...
from 1998 until 2009. He also served as a justice of the High Court of the Cook Islands from his appointment in April 2005 until his retirement in May 2012. In 2011, Nicholson became the first judge to prosecute citizens of the
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
piracy.
Biography
Nicholson was born in
Turua
Turua is a small village community on the banks of the Waihou River in the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the mouth of the river, 9 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames and 12 km south of Thame ...
, a small village on New Zealand's
Hauraki Plains
The Hauraki Plains are a geographical feature and non-administrative area (though Hauraki Plains County Council existed from 1920 to 1989 and a statistical Area Unit remains) located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower ( ...
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
Auckland University College
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, from where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
in 1960. Later that year he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand (at that time known as the Supreme Court). He was appointed
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...
in 1979, and served as the vice president of the
New Zealand Law Society
The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...
from 1989 to 1990.
During his career as a barrister, Nicholson appeared in some of New Zealand's most high-profile cases, including the
Bassett Road machine gun murders
The Bassett Road machine gun murders were the murders of two men with a .45 calibre Reising submachine gun on 7 December 1963 at 115 Bassett Road in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in New Zealand. The crime received considerable media attention ...
trials (as a junior to prosecutor Sir Graham Speight), and as defence counsel in the trial of David Wayne Tamihere for the murder of Urban Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen.
Nicholson worked on commissions of inquiry, including the 1973 inquiry into the "Parnell fumes panic", and the inquiry into the cancer treatment methods of Milan Brych. He also represented the estates of passengers killed in the crash of
Air New Zealand Flight 901
The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled A ...
at the subsequent Royal Commission in 1980, and reported on the fatal shooting of Paul Chase by police in 1983.
He was appointed as a District Court judge in 1995 and a
Youth Court
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
judge in 1996. In 1998, Nicholson was appointed as a judge of the High Court of New Zealand, and remained on the bench until 2009. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Nicholson was appointed a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
, for services as a judge of the High Court.
In April 2005, Nicholson was appointed to the High Court of the Cook Islands, and oversaw a range of both civil and criminal trials during his tenure. He proposed a legislative amendment following a legal drafting error that almost led to the dismissal of charges against a defendant accused of growing
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
.
In 2009 and 2010, Nicholson presided over the longest criminal trial in the history of the Cook Islands, which became known as " Operation Slush". Three defendants—
Norman George
Norman George (born 2 July 1946) is a Cook Islands politician and former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, and Cabinet Minister.
George was first elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands in 1983. He represented ...
, Chris Vaile and Charles Koronui—faced numerous conspiracy and corruption charges spanning from 1999 to 2002, but were all acquitted in April 2010.
In 2011, Nicholson became the first judge to prosecute Cook Islanders for DVD piracy. He also presided over the trial of Tea O Tangaroa Tekeu Uea, a
Cook Islands Christian Church The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) is the largest religious denomination in the Cook Islands. It belongs to the Reformed family of churches. The CICC is a Christian Congregationalist church and has approximately 18,000 members,Cook Islands Media Council.
Nicholson died in
Takapuna
Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...