Annabel Markham

Contact Annabel

Email

annabel.markham@kschambers.co.nz

Annabel Markham

BARRISTER

Panel Convenor, New Zealand Parole Board

Annabel is an experienced litigator and criminal law expert with extensive appellate experience.  As a former Senior Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office, she focused on complex and difficult appeals, Solicitor-General appeals, permanent Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court matters.   She has conducted 16 Supreme Court appeal hearings and has appeared in the Court of Appeal well over 300 times.  As co-counsel she also represented the Crown in the Privy Council in the high-profile cases of Bain and Lundy.

Annabel began her career as a Judges’ Clerk, before moving to Meredith, Connell and Co where she conducted jury trials, judicial reviews and regulatory prosecutions.  She also spent two years as an Associate of Theodore Goddard in the United Kingdom, engaged in civil litigation with a focus on fraud and asset recovery.

Areas of practice: criminal; regulatory; public; coronial.


Qualifications and appointments

LLB, BA (Political Studies), University of Auckland, 1995
Admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of High Court of New Zealand, 1995
Admitted as Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, 2001
Panel Convenor, New Zealand Parole Board, 2021

Awards, publications, and professional activities

French Prize 1990
Senior Scholarship in political studies 1992
Butterworths Criminal Law Prize 1992
Employment Law Prize 1994
Senior Prize in Law 1994
Public Service Award (US Department of Justice) 2004
“Animal Cruelty Sentencing in Australia and New Zealand”, Sankoff and White (eds) Animal Law in Australasia (1st ed 2009; 2nd ed 2013)
Member, New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture
NZ Bar Association Criminal Committee, 2012-2021
Wellington Women Lawyers’ Association (WWLA) Committee, 2002-4
WWLA Mentor, 2003-5
Faculty, Litigation Skills (PILON), 2006
Consultant, Sentencing Council, 2007
Presenter, ARLAN conference on animal welfare law, 2004
Presenter, Crown Prosecutors’ Conferences, 2005 and 2017
Presenter, RNZSPCA Inspectors’ Conference, 2005
Presenter, Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care (DSAC) annual conferences, 2009 and 2010
Presenter, NZBA Appellate Advocacy seminar, 2015
Presenter, Government Legal Network Conference, 2015
Presenter, NZBA webinar case update, 2018
Presenter, Domestic Violence/Sexual Violence conference (TOAHNNEST), September 2019
Faculty, Appellate Advocacy seminar (NZBA), October 2019
Member, Expert Panel Understanding Family Violence (NZ Law Commission), 2016
Presenter, Criminal Law Symposium, 2020

Supreme Court 

  • W v R [2020] NZSC 93 and Roigard v R [2020] NZSC 94 – Admissibility of inmate confession evidence; relevance of reliability under s 8 Evidence Act.
  • Christian v R [2016] NZSC 145, [2018] 1 NZLR 315 – Sexual violation and consent; whether consent must be positively expressed in words or conduct.
  • Johnston v R [2016] NZSC 83, [2016] 1 NZLR 113 – Attempted sexual violation: elements of the offence.
  • Morton v R [2016] NZSC 51, [2017] 1 NZLR 1, (2016) 28 CRNZ 273 – Section 49 of the Evidence Act 2006: admissibility of convictions as conclusive evidence.
  • DH v R [2015] NZSC 35, [2015] 1 NZLR 625, (2015) 27 CRNZ 460 – Admissibility of “counter intuitive” expert evidence dispelling myths about sexual abuse.
  • Jones v R [2014] NZSC 85, [2014] 1 NZLR 838, (2014) 27 CRNZ 507 – Stay of prosecution.  Jurisdiction to appeal.
  • R v Wichman [2015] NZSC 198, [2016] 1 NZLR 753 – Successful Solicitor-General’s appeal against exclusion of a confession obtained via a “Mr Big” undercover technique.
  • Guy v R [2015] NZSC 165, [2015] 1 NZLR 315, (2014) 27 CRNZ 189 – Inadmissible material into jury room; approach to “miscarriage of justice” and proviso.
  • Ah-Chong v R [2015] NZSC 83, [2016] 1 NZLR 445, (2015) 28 CRNZ 216 – Assault with intent to commit sexual violation: elements of the offence; relevance of “honest belief” in consent; meaning and scope of “consent”; subjective versus objective approaches to mens rea.

Privy Council (*not lead counsel)

  • R v Bain (2007) 23 CRNZ 71
  • Lundy v R [2013] UKPC 28, [2014] NZLR 273

Court of Appeal (five judges) 

  • Belcher v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections [2007] 1 NZLR 507 – Retrospective penalties, extended supervision order regime, risk assessment.
  • Reid v NZ Parole Board (2006) 22 CRNZ 743 – Jurisdiction of Parole Board to take into account general deterrence.
  • R v Lee [2006] 3 NZLR 42 – Defence of consent to assault, out of time appeals.

Court of Appeal  

  • Preston v R [2016] NZCA 568 – Admissibility of murder victim’s hearsay statements; reconsideration of recent authority.
  • Lyttle v R [2018] NZCA 394 – Admissibility of “Mr Big” confession to murder, no body located.
  • P v R [2020] NZCA 304 and Chetty v R [2017] NZCA 586 – Admissibility of expert evidence on memory.
  • Lyon and others v R [2019] NZCA 311 and Lyon v R (No 2) [2020] NZCA 430 – Recall jurisdiction: principles
  • R v Davies [2012] 1 NZLR 364, (2011) 25 CRNZ 716 – Minimum periods of imprisonment and retrospective penalties.
  • R v Z [2008] 3 NZLR 342 – Police interview standards, young persons.
  • Taylor v R [2018] NZCA 498, [2019] 2 NZLR 38 – Appeals out of time after change in the law; principle of finality.
  • Winders v R [2018] NZCA 277, [2018] 2 NZLR 305 – Circumstances in which court will revisit pre-trial admissibility decision.
  • R v Brown (2005) 22 CRNZ 233 and Grieve v Chief Executive Dept of Corrections (2005) 22 CRNZ 20 – First appeals to consider the Extended Supervision Order regime.
  • Solicitor-General v Mayes [2004] 1 NZLR 71 – First appeal to consider finite sentences for murder.
  • R v Xie [2007] 2 NZLR 240, (2006) 22 CRNZ 949 – Solicitor-General’s appeal, totality principle.
  • Blakemore v Waitakere District Court [2004] NZAR 115 – Jurisdiction to amend informations, prosecutorial discretion, collateral purpose.
  • R v Abraham [2008] 2 NZLR 352 – Withdrawal of guilty plea.
  • R v Hanna [2004] 2 NZLR 301 – DNA databank legislation, consequences of non-compliance.
  • R v Bain (2003) 20 CRNZ 637, [2004] 1 NZLR 638 – Governor-General’s reference (not lead counsel).