Fresh best practices for district court
HAMILTON: The top district court judge has announced a fresh approach to the way the country’s busiest jurisdiction operates.
The new model, Te Ao Marama, will take practices from specialist courts and apply them to the mainstream criminal system, starting in Hamilton next year.
It was announced by Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu at the annual Norris Ward McKinnon Lecture at Waikato University on Wednesday.
The top judge, who cannot change laws but sets the standards for best practice, said Te Ao Marama reflected the needs of a multicultural Aotearoa.
‘‘The district court is to be a place where everyone — whether they are defendants, witnesses, complainants, victims, parties, or whanau — can come to seek justice regardless of their means or abilities and regardless of their culture or ethnicity and regardless of who they are or where they are from.’’
The new model will change the courtroom experience; inviting iwi and community groups into court, toning down formalities and identifying the underlying drivers of crime.
It will also adopt plain language and have greater use of speakers through cultural reports that can be ordered under Section 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002.
Judge Taumaunu said the mainstreaming of best practices from therapeutic courts is a significant moment for the District Court and should make justice more accessible.
‘‘For many years, judges of the District Court have been leading innovation in solutionfocused justice through specialist courts.
‘‘These courts focus on offenders where issues such as addiction, homelessness, cultural disconnection and poor mental health, among others, are driving or contributing to their offending.’’
Judge Taumaunu called it solutionfocused judging and said it was not the easy way out.
‘‘This approach is underpinned by extensive academic and jurisprudential theory. It is not mere trend or fad. It is both evidencebased and legally sound.’’
The new model comes after decades of calls for transformational change in the justice system backed up by a wealth of reports finding systemic failures.
Rahui Papa, of WaikatoTainui, said Te Ao Marama was a positive step that built on the years of research and advocacy that had come before.
‘‘Our old people have been calling for this for a number of years, Puao Te Ata Tu, from John Rangihau, and Moana Jackson for example, the justice sector, Oranga Tamariki, the whole ambit have been asking for wholesale changes. This is really an accentuation of the stuff that’s happening but it’s a step in the right direction.’’
Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite, who heads the ministry that works to support judges in court, said the new model was a big step.
‘‘We’re really excited about it. I think the leadership the judge is showing is setting a path. It’s very consistent with the work the Government has been talking about through the Hapaitia programme last year. So there’s a coming together of where the executive would like to go and where the judiciary are keen to go, so it’s a very exciting thing.
‘‘Te Ao Marama is still a work in progress; it may be years until it’s up and running in every courthouse and there isn’t yet a way to measure its success.’’
Judge Taumaunu is hopeful it will build confidence the justice system and those encountering it will feel heard and understood.
It is expected Te Ao Marama will be introduced in the Hamilton District Court in the middle of 2021. — RNZ