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Lawyers are concerned about their safety after one of their peers was hospitalised following an assault at the Whangārei District Court.
A family lawyer was attacked in the courthouse on Thursday morning and taken to hospital in a serious condition. A man was arrested over the incident shortly afterwards.
A 36-year-old travel agent appeared in the Whangārei District Court today in relation to yesterday’s assault.
Name suppression was granted by Judge Brooke Gibson who appeared via audio-visual link from Auckland for the man charged with one charge of injuring with intent to injure for the alleged assault on a family court lawyer.
The alleged assault occurred in the elevator. It is not known whether the offender knew the victim.
Whangārei lawyer and Northland Criminal Bar Association co-chairman Wayne McKean said the assault was shocking.
“I think there’s a great concern now about security and the safety of lawyers. In particular, getting into areas in the courthouse where you’re not protected,” he said.
“As I understand it, that assault occurred in the lift, which is certainly a place where a lawyer would feel vulnerable if they were in there with the wrong people.”
Police were among the emergency services called to the Whangārei District Court. Photo / Tania Whyte
McKean said he was aware of more minor assaults and threatening situations in the courthouse in the past.
“Just in the last six months, I’ve heard of a lawyer being put in a position where other lawyers were concerned for their safety,” he said.
It was a similar situation to yesterday’s assault, McKean believed, with a lawyer stuck in a room with someone who was a potential threat.
“It looks to me like [the assault] was the product of a lawyer getting caught in a space with someone from the other side of the case.”
Northland Criminal Bar Association co-chairman Wayne McKean says areas outside the courtroom itself are most dangerous for lawyers.
Photo / Imran Ali
All visitors to the court go through security screening when entering the building and weapons or potential weapons are confiscated.
Assaults in courthouses are not unknown, and a number of judges have been the victims of courtroom attacks around the country. The most serious was against Dame Augusta Wallace in 1990, who was attacked with a machete.
Security needed to focus more on protecting people in areas of the building outside the courtrooms, McKean said.
“The security team in the courthouse is good, but there just needs to be a greater awareness about where those danger spots are. And they are outside of courtrooms in spaces like rooms or lifts or stairwells, where there are not a lot of places to go if something happened.”
Ministry of Justice chief operating officer Carl Crafar said the alleged offender was “immediately detained” by court security officers before being arrested by police.
The court was briefly locked down as a result of the incident, he confirmed, before re-opening.
“Our thoughts are with the lawyer, who is in a serious condition in hospital,” Crafar said.
“We will be working with the Law Society to investigate the incident.”
Police, Hato Hone St John and Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to the assault around 10am. The building’s doors were locked and members of the public were left waiting outside. Police said there was no risk to the wider public in relation to the incident.
Inside the re-opened building yesterday, police were present and the lift had been taped off, with an “out of order” sign on it and a cleaning bucket beside it.
The alleged offender is due to appear in court today.
