James Farmer

LEGAL COMMENTARY

And here is a Report from Stuff of a Virtual Hearing this Week

Thursday, April 30, 2020

From 'Oh dear, this is hopeless' to OK  From Stuff 29 April 2020


And some further comment from me:

I would want to repeat that the reliability of the AVL technology is one thing. Maybe its reliability will eventually be established. But that still does not meet my concern that the judicial process, as we know it, is being compromised to an unacceptable extent. And, now that we are in Alert Level 3 and presumably will be in Alert Level 2 in the foreseeable future, I think unnecessarily.

While I am here, I would quite like to refer back to Steve Keall’s point that in-court “real” hearings “have their share of imperfections”. He is right.

His comment brought to mind an experience that I had when I was practising at the Sydney Bar. I had been briefed for the defendant in a civil case which was being tried in the Commercial Court before the Head of that Court, Justice Andrew Rogers, who had a reputation (justified) for being fearsome and tough in his courtroom (while being absolutely charming outside it). The plaintiff was rumoured to have arranged the execution of one or more persons or, at the very least, was, in a different way, also fearsome and tough. At the start of the hearing, through his counsel he sought an adjournment of the hearing, which was promptly refused. He gave his evidence, clearly with reluctance, and I then embarked on cross-examination. This went very well. I then called for production from the Court his bank records which I had subpoenaed from the bank and which under the procedure used in New South Wales were produced by the bank in advance of the hearing into the custody of the court until called for by the counsel who had subpoenaed them (a useful procedure which I wish our Courts would adopt). At that point, the plaintiff exploded with a string of expletives and leapt from the witness box and advanced menacingly towards me. Someone called out “he’s got a gun” (not in fact correct as it turned out). Andrew pressed a panic button, disappeared from the Bench and out of the courtroom with a speed that would make an Olympic sprinter proud, a security man arrived into the courtroom also with impressive speed and took the plaintiff into custody. However, he got his adjournment.

Jim Farmer
30 April 2020

Recent Posts

  1. Is there any hope for the next America's Cup being held in Auckland? 13-Sep-2024
  2. Directors’ Duties to Creditors in an Insolvency Situation 22-Sep-2023
  3. Redundancy, Good faith and Employment Law 18-Aug-2023
  4. Is the America's Cup a poisoned chalice for New Zealand? 09-May-2023
  5. The Passing of Two Knights of the Realm - Sir Murray Halberg and Sir Ian Barker 07-Dec-2022
  6. Random Legal Thoughts While on a Post-Covid Lockdown European Trip 31-Oct-2022
  7. America's Cup Venue - Fact or Fiction Chris Goode 04-Apr-2022
  8. Covid and the New Zealand Rules Committee Proposed Reforms Chris Goode 24-Jan-2022
  9. A Chat On The Virtual Couch About My Legal Career Chris Goode 26-Nov-2021
  10. America’s Cup Home Defence – Requisition For Special General Meeting Of Members Of Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron To Discuss Venue For Next Defence Chris Goode 24-Nov-2021
  11. Pandemics 12-Nov-2021
  12. America's Cup - Just Do It and Positivity 20-Sep-2021
  13. September 11 - 20 Years On 09-Sep-2021
  14. Whither America's Cup? Chris Goode 22-Jun-2021
  15. Conducting Civil Appeals Chris Goode 07-Mar-2021
  16. David Barnes (27 April 1958 - 23 October 2020) - A Personal Note Chris Goode 02-Nov-2020
  17. Cannabis Bill Not the Right Reform Chris Goode 07-Oct-2020
  18. Whatever the result, is this the last time the America's Cup event is held in New Zealand? Chris Goode 14-Sep-2020
  19. Cannabis Legal Reform - Arguments For and Against Chris Goode 13-Aug-2020
  20. Will the Proposed Cannabis Legislation Achieve its "Overarching Objective" of Reducing the Harms Associated with Cannabis Use? Chris Goode 18-May-2020
  21. The Debate Continues - Virtual Hearings or Real Hearings Chris Goode 02-May-2020
  22. These Issues were all Predicted Pre-Covid-19 and 6 Years Ago Chris Goode 02-May-2020
  23. And here is a Report from Stuff of a Virtual Hearing this Week Chris Goode 30-Apr-2020
  24. More Correspondence on Covid-19 and the Courts Chris Goode 30-Apr-2020
  25. In Defence of Remote Technology - from Steve Keall Chris Goode 29-Apr-2020
  26. Court Hearings and Covid-19 - Part Two Chris Goode 29-Apr-2020
  27. Court Hearings and Covid-19 Chris Goode 28-Apr-2020
  28. Covid-19 and Executory Contracts: Will the Doctrine of Frustration Apply? Chris Goode 06-Apr-2020
  29. Race, Poverty and Education - Lessons from the UK learned while spending Christmas in London December 2019 Chris Goode 13-Jan-2020
  30. Witnesses in Civil Cases - the Consequences of Not Calling and of Not Cross-Examining - A Paper Presented to the Pacific Islands Lawyers Association, Auckland, 22 November 2019 Chris Goode 21-Nov-2019
  31. The Forthcoming Referendum on the Growing and Supply of Cannabis for Personal Recreational Use Chris Goode 19-Nov-2018
  32. Armistice Day and Its Sequel Chris Goode 13-Nov-2018
  33. An Easy Read of the Rule of Law in the World of Fiction Chris Goode 08-Aug-2018
  34. Bullying, Harassment and Gender Bias Chris Goode 22-May-2018
  35. Criticising Judges Chris Goode 07-May-2018
  36. America's Cup Part 3A Chris Goode 11-Dec-2017
  37. America's Cup Part 3 Chris Goode 04-Dec-2017
  38. Pro Bono Publico as an Aid to Living a Balanced Lifestyle Chris Goode 08-Nov-2017
  39. Terence Arnold Retires From the Supreme Court Bench Chris Goode 10-Apr-2017
  40. From Violence to Redemption Chris Goode 14-Mar-2017
  41. Drugs, Sports and Society Chris Goode 18-Oct-2016
  42. Are Our Law Schools Churning Out Too Many Lawyers? Chris Goode 25-Aug-2016
  43. Equiticorp 20 Years On Chris Goode 07-Jun-2016
  44. The Year in Retrospect Chris Goode 19-Jan-2016
  45. A Good Year for the Farmer Legal Family Chris Goode 30-Oct-2015
  46. Having a Balanced Life Style - Part 4 Chris Goode 21-Sep-2015
  47. A Balanced Life Style (Part 3), Prisoners' Voting Rights, Top Gun, 7000kms in a Corvette, John Maynard Keynes and Atticus Finch Chris Goode 05-Aug-2015
  48. Biographies Chris Goode 13-Apr-2015
  49. The Cost of Justice Chris Goode 13-Mar-2015
  50. The Increase in Unrepresented Litigants and Their Effect on the Judicial Process Chris Goode 11-Feb-2015
  51. Evidence - Notes of Presentation to Continuing Legal Education Seminar November 2014 Chris Goode 01-Dec-2014
  52. Corporate Governance and Directors' Liability Chris Goode 19-Aug-2014
  53. Paper Presented on 2 August 2014 at the Competition Law & Policy Institute of New Zealand 25th Annual Conference Chris Goode 05-Aug-2014
  54. Life in the Fast Lane Chris Goode 06-Jun-2014
  55. 2014 - Roaring Past Chris Goode 04-Jun-2014
  56. Commentary on Paper Delivered by Professor Andrew I Gavil at Commerce Commission Conference Chris Goode 18-Nov-2013
  57. America's Cup Wrap Up Chris Goode 04-Oct-2013
  58. Happiness, Living a Balanced Life and Legal Practice - Part II Chris Goode 15-Aug-2013
  59. America's Cup 2013 Chris Goode 01-Jul-2013
  60. Why the Rules of Evidence Matter in Civil Cases Chris Goode 11-Mar-2013
  61. The High Court in Review Chris Goode 07-Oct-2012
  62. "Criticism of Supreme Court needs to be put in context" as published in the New Zealand Herald 11 May 2012 Chris Goode 23-May-2012
  63. Recent Reform Reports Chris Goode 03-Apr-2012
  64. Happiness, Living a Balanced Life and Legal Practice Chris Goode 09-Jan-2012
  65. In Defence of the Supreme Court Chris Goode 12-Dec-2011
  66. LEGAL COMMENTARY HOW GOOD IS OUR SUPREME COURT? Chris Goode 16-Nov-2011
  67. Cross Examination Notes Chris Goode 11-Nov-2011
  68. Are the independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law under threat? Chris Goode 16-Oct-2011
  69. Commentary on my commentary on Morse Chris Goode 14-Sep-2011
  70. The passing of three leaders of the Bar Chris Goode 14-Sep-2011
  71. How good is our Supreme Court? Chris Goode 08-Aug-2011

Georgia Racing

Website Managed by Generate Design