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 () 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 of justice throughout New Zeala ...

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 The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

for

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

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 ki ...

piracy.

Biography

Nicholson was born in Turua, a small village on New Zealand's

Hauraki Plains The Hauraki Plains are a geographical area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower (northern) end of the Thames Valley, New Zealand, Thames Valley. They are located 75 kilometres south-east of Auckland, at the foot of ...

, on 21 June 1936. He received his education at St. Stephen's School in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and at Thames High School, before studying at Auckland University College, from where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1960. Later that year he was admitted as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

of the High Court of New Zealand (at that time known as the Supreme Court). He was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1979, and served as the vice president of the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society () 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, although any person wishing ...

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 trials (as a junior to prosecutor Sir

Graham Speight Sir Graham Davies Speight (21 July 1921 – 17 July 2008) was a New Zealand High Court judge. He served as the acting Queen's Representative in the Cook Islands in 1984. Speight was born in Auckland on 21 July 1921. He was educated at Newmarket ...

), 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 (TE901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled Ant ...

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 District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

judge in 1995 and a

Youth Court Juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, chi ...

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 ...

, 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 that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. 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, 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 minister accused of the indecent assault of three teenage girls. Nicholson retired from the High Court of the Cook Islands in May 2012. He also served as the chairman of the Cook Islands Media Council. Nicholson died in

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

on 31 October 2015 at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Colin 1936 births 2015 deaths People from Waikato People educated at Thames High School University of Auckland alumni 20th-century New Zealand judges New Zealand King's Counsel High Court of New Zealand judges High Court of the Cook Islands judges New Zealand judges on the courts of the Cook Islands Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand judges People educated at St Stephen's School, Bombay Hills