Two top lawyers face probe

By REBECCA WALSH

Police are investigating a courtroom altercation between two of the city's most prominent criminal lawyers.

Detective Senior Sergeant Gary Davey from Takapuna said last night: "Police are investigating an incident between Barry Hart and Christopher Harder on Monday at the Albany court."

He expected the investigation would take a week to a fortnight.

Neither Mr Hart nor Mr Harder would comment yesterday.

However, the Auckland District Law Society council has called an urgent meeting about the incident.

Earlier, Kevin Robinson, manager of the North Shore District Court, confirmed an incident involving two Auckland lawyers in one of the courts on Monday.

Asked if the exchange had started in the cells adjoining the court room Mr Robinson said he understood it happened in the court.

"There were people in the court but the court was not sitting. The judge was not in the court room."

Mr Robinson said he had reports from two staff members present. He had referred their accounts to the District Law Society. He had not referred the matter to police.

Mr Raynor Asher, QC, president of the Auckland District Law Society, confirmed the society received a report about an incident between two lawyers at the court.

The society council would meet today or early next week to discuss the report and decide whether to carry out an investigation, he said.

Any investigation would be conducted by the society's complaints committee, which would then decide whether a complaint should be laid.

Complaints were considered by a disciplinary tribunal, a separate body made up of lawyers and a lay person.

If no formal complaint was made the council could still initiate its own complaint.

Mr Asher said investigations were confidential. If the alleged incident happened, "it's totally inappropriate behaviour for practitioners".

Yesterday Mr Harder would not confirm he was involved. "Some things get twisted ... I can't help you," he said.

Mr Harder represented one of the people convicted of killing pizza delivery worker Michael Choy.

In 1999 he travelled to the Balkans and offered to act as an independent negotiator to bring peace in Kosovo.

He was involved in negotiating the return of a stolen Colin McCahon painting in 1998 and in 1997 went to Peru in an unsuccessful bid to broker an end to a hostage crisis.

In 2000 he admitted two charges of conduct unbecoming a barrister in relation to a murder case.

Mr Hart, who also refused to comment on the incident, has appeared in several high-profile cases including that of Shane Hoko, who was convicted last year of murdering hitchhiker Jennifer Hargreaves.

He represented Kenyan musician Peter Mwai, who was sentenced to seven years in jail in 1994 for having unprotected sex with five women while he knowingly carried the HIV virus.

Mr Hart has also represented convicted rapist Malcolm Rewa.

Additional reporting: NATASHA HARRIS