Tourist wins appeal over ‘bully’ judge

A Canadian tourist who said a judge bullied her into pleading guilty has had her conviction overturned.

A Court of Appeal decision issued yesterday said Invercargill District Court Judge Mark Callaghan had good intentions, but he ‘‘overstepped his role’’.

Heather Gleason-Beard’s conviction was overturned and she was acquitted instead.

On July 9, 2017, Gleason-Beard was in a Queenstown bar and took offence at comments made by another patron about the size of her breasts. She said he had intended to just throw the contents of her drink at him, but the glass connected with his face and cut his top lip. He did not want medical treatment but said his tooth was chipped.

Gleason-Beard faced trial in Invercargill on charges including wounding with intent to injure. On the morning it was due to start, in a private session the judge persisted in saying he doubted she had a defence.

Without the credit for a guilty plea, Gleason-Beard was likely to go to jail, the judge said.

After a more formal indication of the likely sentence if she was to plead guilty to a less serious charge of injuring with reckless disregard for safety, GleasonBeard was put into custody to consider her position.

She pleaded guilty that day. She was sentenced to 100 hours community work and ordered to pay $5000 to the man who was cut. She completed the sentence before leaving New Zealand.

At an appeal hearing in July her lawyer, Nathan Bourke, said she was bullied into pleading guilty. She filed an affidavit saying she had never faced a criminal charge before and felt pressured to plead guilty.

The Court of Appeal said it was troubled by the judge’s persistence in giving his view of the likely sentence. He should have accepted the possibility of a defence to the charges.

The judge’s comments about the likelihood of imprisonment exacerbated the situation, especially as it was excessive.