"A lot of people are hurting out there,” says Judge Cocurullo (Ngāti Pikiao), who also sits in the Youth Court, including Waikato’s Te Kōti Rangatahi | Rangatahi Courts.
“I sense COVID-19 has thrown up an added degree of vulnerability within the community. If there were ever a need to be sensitive in what we do, as we always strive to, COVID has really brought that into focus.”
Judge Cocurullo joined the bench in 2007 and has seen the judge’s role evolve from “simply the formalities of the law to one where we are in a much better position to understand all the world of those who come before us and try to react to that”. He has always believed “the person in front of me is not a bad person, it’s just sometimes the things they have done are bad, they have made wrong decisions. And sometimes a heavy part of that is the background and circumstances in life from which they have come”.
Judge Cocurullo sees a lot of sad lives and situations, but says: “My job is not to join the sadness. Sadness is not far away from chaos and confusion and if people come before me with those dynamics the best thing I can do is hand them clarity, comfort, certainty, leadership and direction.”
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