Alexandra Allen-Franks will explore impacts of admission or exclusion
Through a new research project that may influence legislative reforms, Dr Alexandra Allen-Franks, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Law School, plans to address the question of how courts deal with evidence gathered unfairly or unlawfully.
According to a news release from the University of Auckland, the project will also address questions such as:
The university’s news release stated that the project’s findings could potentially alter how courts deliver justice in Aotearoa New Zealand and drive more debate regarding how courts balance the considerations of fairness, accountability, and human rights.
The news release shared that a Royal Society Te Apārangi Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship, valued at $820,000, will finance four years of the research.
Allen-Franks expressed excitement about receiving the fellowship and commencing her project, which will build upon her PhD thesis and her contributions as a co-author of Mahoney on Evidence: Act and Analysis (2nd edition, Thomson Reuters, 2024), upon her return from parental leave in 2026.
"Writing the fellowship application in between feeding my newborn twins was a mission, but I’m glad it paid off and very grateful to the Law Faculty for their support, in particular Jodi Gardner, Charlotte Bennett and Janet McLean,” Allen-Franks said in the news release.
According to the university’s news release, in criminal and civil cases, the country’s courts can exclude evidence acquired through coercion or torture. However, the Law Commission has brought up concerns that courts might be admitting such evidence more often than excluding it, with reforms recommended to the Evidence Act 2006.
Her biography on the university’s website provides more information on her practical experience, academic work, and educational background.
Allen-Franks, an enrolled barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, is certified with the New Zealand Law Society.
She has worked at a large international law firm in London, at Bankside Chambers in Auckland as an employed barrister, and at the Auckland High Court as a judges’ clerk.
Allen-Franks has handled trade mark applications and oppositions at the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) as counsel at New Zealand’s High Court and Court of Appeal.
She earned her LLB (honours) from the University of Otago in Dunedin and her LLM and PhD from the University of Cambridge in the UK.
Allen-Franks has taught human rights law at Fitzwilliam College, King's College, Pembroke College, and Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge, as well as criminal procedure and evidence at Pembroke College and Homerton College.
Her research areas include intellectual property law, civil procedure, domestic human rights law, and litigation, adjudication and dispute resolution.
