Should one be polling before the court decision?

The Herald reports:

In the same poll 48 per cent of voters said internet magnate Kim Dotcom should be allowed to stay in New Zealand – 42 per cent say Dotcom should be sent back to the US, and 10 per cent didn’t know.

This was a poll by 3 News.

I think it was a very bad decision to do a poll on this issue. It is tantamount to doing a poll on whether someone charged of a crime is guilty – before it has even gone to trial!

The decision on extradition is effectively one for the courts. Their role is to determine whether the offences he has been charged with in the US qualify under our extradition treaty and laws.

The decision on extradition is one for the courts, not one for public opinion. Of course Mr Dotcom is trying to make it into a cause celebre, but I am unsure as to why TV3 would play along.

If the courts find Dotcom should not be extradited, then he is very welcome here. If he is extradited and is found not guilty in a trial, then again he is welcome here. But the court processes should be allowed to reach a conclusion.