MEDIA
The New Zealand Law Society estimated that 71.8% of new law graduates would be female in 2021 – a huge transformation from the 26.3% recorded back in 1980.
Women are increasingly making a presence on the lists of powerful and influential lawyers.
A teen who raped and sexually violated multiple teenage girls wants his name permanently kept secret partly over fears of “vigilante justice”, a new court document reveals.
The man’s Court of Appeal application requesting leave to appeal the decision not to grant him permanent name suppression alleges a judge failed to place sufficient weight on “vigilante attacks” against him and was wrong in finding he would not likely suffer extreme hardship as a result.
“Being subjected to violence cannot be said to be an ordinary consequence of publication.
A man has been jailed after admitting his involvement in a shooting that left a man deaf.
Heston Salt, who was not the shooter, took part in a home invasion in Auckland’s Mt Roskill that left three people seriously injured.
He was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison by Justice Geoffrey Venning at the High Court at Auckland on Thursday after admitting three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
More than 800 people released from prison on parole with certain curfews will have them removed, after the Parole Board deemed them unlawful.
In a memo sent by the Parole Board, seen by Stuff, dated September 30, Sir Ron Young says affected registered victims will be told. The exact number of victims is not yet known.
A social media influencer who raped one man and sexually violated another while they slept has been jailed for nine years.
The influencer, who cannot be named, was found guilty of five charges of sexually violating the two men in 2016 and 2017. He continues to maintain his innocence.
On Friday, he was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by Justice Rebecca Edwards in the High Court at Auckland.
The influencer, who was friends with the victims, abused the trust of those relationships, Justice Edwards said.
A woman whose baby was injured as she tried to save his life has escaped a conviction, with a judge saying she has suffered enough.
The woman, who has permanent name suppression to protect the identities of her children, appeared at the High Court in Auckland on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of wounding with reckless disregard.
Justice Grant Powell discharged her without conviction.
A teenager who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties and social gatherings is asking the court to keep his name secret forever.
The 19-year-old was sentenced to 12 months of home detention and a further 12 months of supervision when he appeared at the Auckland District Court in April.
He had earlier admitted charges of rape, unlawful sexual connection with a child, indecent assault and sexual conduct with a child.
The teenager’s application for permanent name suppression was declined but his lawyer appealed. Three of the six young women who he attacked took the brave step of waiving their statutory name suppression and delivered powerful victim impact statements.
I read with interest Samira Taghavi online about the recent Supreme Court decision exonerating Alan Hall. She concludes that criminal defence lawyers are vilified, yet vital to the administration of justice.
Having just finished a high-profile trial, I came across this online: "I was on a jury for a sexual assault trial and Ms Priest was one of the defence lawyers. I understand the job of a defence lawyer and agree everyone deserves a fair defence. She, however, is an utter piece of s***."
This is not the first vicious comment I've received. It's borne of ignorance. This sort of vitriol falls under the umbrella of a belief that criminal defence lawyers are defending the indefensible: "How do you defend someone who is guilty?"
On Budget night this year, and with much fanfare, the government announced a $148.7 million injection of funds into New Zealand’s legal aid system, to be drip-fed over the next four years.
The money would, the government said, “ensure continued access to justice by significantly strengthening the legal aid scheme”. It would also allow for changes to woefully low financial eligibility thresholds and boost the equally low remuneration for legal aid lawyers.
An additional $41.4m has been granted to meet the expected increase in demand for legal aid when the income thresholds change on 1 January next year and an estimated 93,000 more people become eligible.
A well-known social media influencer has been found guilty of preying on two teenage boys, performing sexual acts on them while they were unconscious or asleep.
Interim name suppression remains in place until sentencing for the man, who is now convicted of five counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. However, jurors acquitted him of one count of sexual violation, along with three counts of blackmail and two counts of aggravated wounding by stupefaction.
It took the 11-person panel about five hours of deliberation to reach the split verdict, which came after three weeks of testimony in the High Court at Auckland.
