Wheels of justice grind slowly

Jury trials took longer to come to court in Tauranga last year than they did in the previous 12 months prompting claims victims are at risk and undue stress is being placed on the accused.
Figures released by National Party law and order spokesman Tony Ryall show the average waiting time for a trial to start at Tauranga District Court court last year was 256 days - up 34 per cent from the 2003 average of 191 days.
This is despite a drop in the overall number of trials waiting to be heard.
But Courts Minister Rick Barker accused Mr Ryall of misrepresenting the figures.
Mr Ryall's figures show the Tauranga court was the second-slowest in the nation behind Kaikohe, which takes an average of 260 days to begin a trial.
The quickest court was Gisborne at 78 days. Nationwide, the average was 183 days.
Mr Ryall said this could put undue stress on both the accused and victims in a criminal case.
He regarded Tauranga District Court as a "hot spot" as far as trial waiting times were concerned, along with district courts at Auckland, Blenheim, and Rotorua.
"These delays cause unnecessary anguish for everyone involved. They put victims of crime in danger of further violence, and prevent defendants from beginning their sentences or clearing their names," Mr Ryall said.
The figure of 256 days was an average waiting time calculated over the entire year.
But the delays peaked last July - when defendants were waiting 312 days for their trial to be heard - and but have since started to decrease.
Tauranga Crown solicitor Rob Ronayne said he thought Mr Ryall's comments were a little extreme.
"I think that delays generally are being managed carefully," he said.
But he added that long delays could be dangerous.
"Any delays are particularly concerning for victims and for witnesses whose memories can be affected by the passage of time."
Tauranga defence lawyer Vinay Deobhakta said he had noticed the delays and currently had several trials waiting to be heard.
"Tauranga seems to be slightly higher than the national average," he said.
But he thought some of Mr Ryall's comments on victims being put at risk were a bit askew.
"I think that's legally flawed."
Mr Deobhakta said that if a person was granted bail they were monitored, and if there was any risk to a victim, the accused would be remanded in custody instead.
He added that delays in trials were not confined just to Tauranga.
"Some of the courts in the Auckland region have trials that are just as long."
Defence lawyer Tony Balme thought the delays were all part of the process of justice and that eight months was not that long to wait.
"There's all sorts of things that have to be thrown into the mix."
He estimated he had about six trials at present that have been waiting more than a year to be heard. But he said that tended to be the result of witnesses being unavailable or sick rather than a slow court.
Mr Barker said waiting times could fluctuate from year to year.
"He deliberately ignores the causes for delays such as witness availability, absconding defendants, new cases involving children being moved up the queue, or counsel not being available," he said of Mr Ryall.
Mr Barker said complex cases such as a rape or drug trials could take longer because of the complexity of evidence involved.
He said the appointment of a new judge for Tauranga would help relieve pressure on those cases waiting to start.
Thomas Ingram of Hamilton has been appointed Tauranga's new judge and was sworn in on January 11