Half century of helping folk face court cases
FIFTY years ago, lawyer David More posed on the steps of the Dunedin courthouse for a photo after being admitted to the bar.
With the recent reopening of the historic Stuart St building he was back in the exact spot after half a century of practice.
It turns out standing before the court, arguing on behalf of a client was a little easier than condensing his career.
‘‘It’s difficult to sum up, actually,’’ Mr More said.
Luckily, Dunedin Executive Judge Michael Crosbie stepped in.
‘‘As a practitioner he has always epitomised some of the finest traditions of the legal profession including commitment to clients, fearless advocacy and courtesy to the court. The More family have for several generations contributed enormously to the Otago and Southland communities, including in Mr More’s case as a former President of the Otago District Law Society,’’ he said.
In fact, at 36, Mr More was the youngest person to be elected to the position.
In 1968, his moving counsel at his High Court admission ceremony was his father.
Mr More said he could never have imagined more than 40 years later he would be doing the same thing for his son, Andrew.
‘‘He’s always been a great sounding board and a font of wisdom,’’ Andrew More said.
There is clearly something in the genes.
When it comes to law and the More family, it is not so much a tradition as it is ‘‘a dynasty’’.
At the last count, Mr More reckoned there were about 14 involved in the profession.
This week, he sat down with the Otago Daily Times and reflected on the highlights of a sparkling career, which included law changes and a murder appeal which took him to London in front of the Privy Council.
Mr More was ultimately unsuccessful but with such a breadth of experience he knows more than most — you don’t win them all.
So what keeps him fighting for the underdog?
‘‘Every criminal is somebody’s son or daughter, husband, wife or parent. They don’t stop being human beings because they’re criminals; and the system can be very harsh,’’ Mr More said.
In the Family Court, he said, it was particularly gratifying to help people with access to their children.
But the justice is not always just.
Mr More said he would love to see changes to the prison system to force a greater focus on rehabilitation. He envisaged a system whereby first offenders would undergo a full psychological and physical assessment before they sat down with the Parole Board to work out a path ahead.
‘‘There are far too many prisoners for the size of our population and far too many Maori prisoners for their percentage in the community,’’ Mr More said.
‘‘It costs $100,000 a year to imprison someone. If that person is released and offends again you’ve wasted all that money.’’
‘‘The Dunedin Judges look forward to seeing Mr More appearing in court for many years to come,’’ Judge Crosbie said.
❛ Every criminal is somebody’s son or daughter, husband, wife or parent. They don’t stop being human beings because they’re criminals; and the system can be very harsh