He also represented the estates of passengers killed in the crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 at the subsequent Royal Commission in 1980, and reported on the fatal shooting of Paul Chase by police in 1983.
[2] In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Nicholson was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a judge of the High Court.
[2][3] 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.
[2][4] 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.
[4] 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.