District Court judge and High Court acting associate judge appointed

A judge of the District Court and an acting associate judge of the High Court have been appointed.

Tauranga barrister Dean Blair has been appointed as a judge of the District Court, Attorney-General David Parker said. He will sit in Hamilton and have a Family Court warrant.

The new judge has been focused on Family Court cases since 2005. He is also an expert in civil and criminal matters in both the District Court and the High Court, as well as on employment law hearings and representation.

He will be sworn in on 23 August in Tauranga.

John Matthews, retired associate judge of the High Court, has also been appointed as an acting associate judge. He retired in January.

He has been appointed to a two-month term and will sit in Christchurch, the attorney-general said.