Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Don't argue with the judge

Imran Ali
By Imran Ali
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
27 Sep, 2013 06:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Whangarei District Court was a hive of activity - and drama - as a defiant woman was dragged out of a courtroom for arguing with, among all people, a judge.

The fracas started after Judge John McDonald finished sentencing a man to a month in jail on a charge of possessing a pipe used for smoking drugs.

The man, facing other drugs charges, appeared for a callover and as he was being escorted back down to the building by First Security officers, the judge called him back. Judge McDonald opted to sentence him before lunch on the lesser charge - a move that riled a woman in the public gallery who questioned why a "Maori fella" had been put off to appear at 2.15pm in an unrelated case.

The judge asked who she referred to, and the woman replied that the judge should know as he had the files.

When asked whether the man she referred to was related to her, she replied "no" but queried why the court applied different rules in terms of when to deal with cases. Judge McDonald said he didn't have to explain procedural matters as such to her before ordering her to leave court or be sent to the cells for being in contempt of court.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She remained refused to leave.

When court security officers arrived and asked her to leave, she asked: "Why you coming charging through the door for?"

She scoffed at another request to leave, saying Judge McDonald just "wanted to do what he wanted to do".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The woman was then taken out, allegedly assaulting a security officer, who suffered minor injuries, while resisting arrest. She was held in an interview room, just outside the courtroom, while waiting for police to arrive.

It's understood she was charged with common assault and bailed to appear in the court a later date.

Judge McDonald is known for taking a tough stance on those who misbehave in court.

Last year, he sentenced a Mangonui man who spat at him to two months in jail for contempt.

Discover more

Couple charged with assaulting holidaymakers

21 Oct 06:29 PM

In 2011, he ordered that a Dargaville man refused bail, who then swore at him, to serve 21 days behind bars.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Arrest made after woman suffers injuries in alleged Whangārei assault

06 Jul 02:05 AM
Northern Advocate

'Absolutely superb': Northland shines in hosting international rugby

06 Jul 01:53 AM
Northern Advocate

'There's still a lot to do': Road safety concerns despite $47m upgrades

06 Jul 12:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Arrest made after woman suffers injuries in alleged Whangārei assault

Arrest made after woman suffers injuries in alleged Whangārei assault

06 Jul 02:05 AM

An 18-year-old man was arrested on Friday after a woman approached the police station.

'Absolutely superb': Northland shines in hosting international rugby

'Absolutely superb': Northland shines in hosting international rugby

06 Jul 01:53 AM
'There's still a lot to do': Road safety concerns despite $47m upgrades

'There's still a lot to do': Road safety concerns despite $47m upgrades

06 Jul 12:00 AM
'Very cold and shaken': Kayakers found after using phone torch to alert rescuers

'Very cold and shaken': Kayakers found after using phone torch to alert rescuers

05 Jul 11:52 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP