"Lawyers need to be safe when doing their work", NZBA president says
A recent incident involving a lawyer being assaulted by her client at the Auckland District Court has spurred a concerned reaction from the New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture.
The alleged attack took place last Wednesday, as reported by the NZ Herald. In a statement to the publication, the unnamed lawyer said that her client “started punching me, knocked me to the ground. Then she stomped on me”.
The assault was broken up by a forensic nurse on the scene, as well as a police officer in a trial. The assailant was arrested after an attempt to flee the scene; the lawyer was taken to the hospital, and reported experiencing psychological trauma.
Bar Association criminal law committee co-chair Rachael Reed KC noted that anecdotally, the rate at which such assaults are taking place has been rising; in the past two years, at least two other attacks have taken place in other courthouses. The organisation said that it was “unacceptable” for lawyers to be assaulted in the course of doing their jobs.
“This cannot be permitted to continue. Lawyers need to be safe when doing their work and particularly while they are at court for clients”, President Maria Dew KC said.
The Bar Association pointed out that lawyers at District Courts already took on high-pressure, stressful work on a daily basis, and did not need to be putting their personal safety at risk too. The organisation confirmed that it had reached out to the assaulted lawyer to offer support.
The lawyer also told the Herald that she had received support from members of the legal profession, including the chief District Court judge.
