Smith-Voorkamp and Davis on TVNZ's Sunday programme Arie Smith-Voorkamp's lawyer is to discuss whether or not his client and his partner Michael Davis wish to fight for compensation for the time they spent in jail, on burglary charges which have now been withdrawn. Smith-Voorkamp spent 11 days in custody, while Davis was behind bars for six weeks, after they were arrested in an abandoned building, accused of looting after the February Christchurch earthquake. After six months before the courts the burglary charges against them have been thrown out, with police conceding Smith-Voorkamp was drawn to electrical fittings in the building due to an obsession driven by Asperger's. They have given Davis the benefit of the doubt that he was simply trying to protect his partner. After the successful result in the case, defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton says he will discuss the issue of compensation with the couple, but points out the reason they were initially jailed was that a judge refused them bail. He says it's very rare for anyone to be granted compensation in those circumstances. The allegation Smith-Voorkamp was assaulted while being arrested is not something that will be pursued further, with Eaton pointing out that the experience of both men and the criminal justice system is has not been a particularly happy one. "I think they'll just be happy to wake up this morning knowing that they're no longer part of the system and very happy to carry on their lives and have nothing more to do with it." Eaton says all in all the men are both delighted and relieved to be able to put it all behind them, and he personally believes the dropping of the charges was 'very overdue'. "We have been, since March, attempting to persuade the police that the charges ought to be withdrawn or the case ought to be otherwise dealt with. We were getting strong words of encouragement from the judges who were hearing the case, but it was falling on deaf ears for a long time," he says. "It was becoming frustrating, but we never gave up thinking that with a little bit of perseverance some of those people would see the light and eventually that's what happened." Diversion Eaton is not persuaded by the reasons police have given for not granting his client diversion. "The most recent refusal was based on a reason that he hadn't pleaded guilty and may have a legal defence to the charges, and therefore it wasn't appropriate for him to be diverted," he says. "But before I personally got involved in the case he had pleaded guilty when he was represented by other counsel. And the day after he pleaded guilty, and he did that on the understanding diversion was to be considered, he was then told diversion was to be refused. So he pleaded guilty and they still refused diversion." "We've had a whole lot of reasons thrown at us as to why diversion wasn't going to be approved. Certainly the comments being made by the judges who were hearing the case was that they felt it was an entirely appropriate case for diversion. And if it had been dealt with a month ago it would have saved a lot of resources in terms of the time and energy that had to go into resolving it." On a personal note Eaton is a defence lawyer in high-demand who has represented many high-profile clients. He took on Smith-Voorkamp's case pro-bono and when prodded he explains why he was drawn to the case: "As a defence lawyer whenever you are aware of a case where you think things aren't going to plan, maybe falling off the rails and someone is getting the raw end of the stick and maybe can't put that on track themselves, there's a sense of justice that prevails in you," he says. "And if you get the opportunity then you get in and hopefully push things back on the rails again. "And it's been a rewarding case to be involved with; there have been a lot of messages of support from around the country from people in the legal field, in the gay community and also the Asperger's community. There has been a lot of support and it's been rewarding for me personally as well."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 23rd August 2011 - 2:22pm