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CHIEF DISTRICT COURT JUDGE FOR NEW ZEALAND
TE KAIWHAKAWĀ MATUA O TE KŌTI-Ā-ROHE
Judge Heemi Taumaunu
1 April 2020
Tiana Epati
President New Zealand Law Society
president@lawsociety.org.nz
cc Bronwyn Jones NZ Law Society
Bronwyn.Jones@lawsociety.org.nz
Len Andersen
President, Criminal Bar Association
president@criminalbar.org.nz
Marie Dyhrberg QC
President, Auckland District Law Society
marie@mariedyhrberg.co.nz
Kate Davenport QC
President NZ Bar Association
kate@katedavenportqc.co.nz
Kia ora koutou
AN UPDATE REGARDING PROCEEDINGS IN THE DISTRICT COURT DURING ALERT LEVEL 4
I am aware that since Alert Level 4 came into force, some defendants who are in custody and scheduled to appear in the District Court have not appeared and their proceedings have been administratively adjourned by the registry. As I stated in the District Court Alert Level 4 protocol dated 25 March 2020, all defendants who are in custody will appear before a Judge. Accordingly, those defendants should have appeared before a Judge. The Ministry of Justice has agreed to identify the defendants who were dealt with in this manner and will reschedule their appearances to the next available date before a Judge.
For clarification, all defendants who are in custody will continue to appear before a Judge on scheduled appearance dates during the Alert Level 4 period. All hearings will be facilitated by remote participation whenever possible. In addition, until further notice, no witnesses for Judge Alone Trials or Pre-trial Applications are required to appear in Court to give evidence on those dates. Instead, a call-over will be conducted.
I also advise that:
Please distribute this information to your members. Thank you for your assistance.
Ngā mihi
Heemi Taumaunu
Chief District Court Judge
cc:
The Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann, Chief Justice
Justice Miller, Chair Judicial Steering Group
Cate Brett, Chief Advisor, Judicial Development and Communications
Carl Crafar, Chief Operating Officer
Jacquelyn Shannon, Group Manager, Operations and Service Delivery
Richard Williams, Regional Manager, Lower North
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