Courthouses are very much in the news as 2018 gets underway. On 26 January Dunedin’s legal profession paraded through the city to the formal first sitting of the historic and now restored Stuart Street Court. A few days later, on 31 January, a ceremonial sitting to mark the opening of the Christchurch High Court was held. On 2 March there will be a special sitting in Auckland’s No 1 High Court to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the High Court’s presence on its current site.

More negatively, early in the New Year there were reports of major problems with the facilities at the Rotorua courthouse. Discussion has also flowed over whether merged courthouses in the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct is the best way to deliver justice.

The legal profession has been a prominent participant in all these developments. It is self-evident that lawyers have a close connection with courthouses. For many the courthouse is a workplace; for others it symbolises the justice system. Some spend over half their time there, with all the attendant needs this raises such as client interview rooms, research space, toilets, security, privacy and the need to be close to a courtroom when their matter is called.

Feedback from the profession around the country indicates that there are issues with the facilities in many of our courthouses. While there are some horror stories, a lot of the problems appear to stem from old buildings struggling to meet modern needs. Major ongoing developments in technology, service delivery and process also have a continuing impact on the way courthouses are used. A building erected in days without email or the internet, when power had to be delivered through a long cord, and when wi-fi and AVL were science fiction – and where there are more lawyers and increased security personnel to accommodate – often struggles to cope.

The Ministry of Justice says there are currently 65 buildings which operate as courthouses or hearing centres. Of these 32 are stand-alone District Courts, with 15 buildings accommodating both District and High Courts. There are 12 “District Court Hearing Courts” – which handle short hearings no longer than a day.

Today’s courthouses probably represent less than half of the courthouses which have been used to deliver justice in New Zealand. Visit any small centre and you could end up having coffee, viewing artworks or museum pieces, shopping, or even living in what was once a courthouse. The New Zealand Heritage List has 49 current or former courthouses on it. Of these, 12 are Category 1 which is historical places of special or outstanding historical or cultural significance or value. The remainder are Category 2 (historical places of historical or cultural significance or value).

Former lawyer Terry Carson produced a lovely illustrated homage to many of the North Island’s courthouses in 2013 with Built for Justice: Visits to old North Island Courthouses (Alibi Press). Of the 61 pre-1950 courthouses he lists, just 20 are still in use today.

Courthouse “rationalisation” has occurred in two major waves. In September 1976 the Royal Commission on the Courts recommended that courts should stay geographically close to the people. Where a court was more than 40 miles (64 km) from another court its services ought to be retained unless the volume of business was small and showed a decreasing trend. After fierce discussion, community meetings and protests, 23 courts were closed. At the same time the Government set a programme of modernisation, extension and replacement of courthouses around the country, which continues today.

Another round of closures began in October 2012, with five courts closed and a further eight designated as hearings-only courts. Many of the closures were related to assessed earthquake risks.

Now, in 2018, it appears that New Zealand’s courthouse stock is here to stay for the foreseeable future (barring further natural disasters). “There are no planned court closures,” says Fraser Gibbs, General Manager Commercial and Property when asked if the Ministry of Justice has any further plans for courthouse closures.

In June 2015 then Labour Justice spokesperson Jacinda Ardern released a statement which said the closures of the regional courthouses would have a serious impact on access to justice in regions where access was already difficult or limited. “No one is arguing against the impact of changing technology and population patterns, but changes should not simply be a cost-cutting exercise,” she said.

Fitness for purpose

With a more secure future, the focus turns on the fitness for purpose of our courthouses and their stature.

Since 20 November 2017 the multi-million dollar Justice and Emergency Precinct in Christchurch has brought all city-based courts and tribunals together along with all regional justice and emergency services. The Police, Department of Corrections, St John, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the Canterbury Regional Emergency Management Office will all share the facility along with the courts. This has not pleased some practitioners.

“The lumping together of such diverse ‘services’ brings with it a dangerous blurring of the necessary separation of the executive on the one hand from the judicial on the other – a blurring of the essential divide between two such different branches of government,” Nigel Hampton QC told the final sitting at the old High Court.

“And that is made worse in not only lumping the police and the courts together in one complex, but also by failing to properly mark off and delineate the one from the other. This can only but have, in my view, a deleterious effect on the public perception of the independence of the judiciary.

“Where is the courthouse that the citizenry should know of? Where is the police station? Where for that matter, is the High Court marked out, named, and apparent?”

“It’s really important that courts are seen as courts and feel like courts,” says New Zealand Bar Association President Clive Elliott QC. He says if people are diverted into a large and impersonal building complex, it is likely they won’t feel like they are in the justice system.

“At this stage there are no plans for a multi-agency precinct approach,” says the Ministry’s Fraser Gibbs, when also asked if the Christchurch model will be rolled out elsewhere. “We will look at possible opportunities with our sector partners should these arise.”

The state of our courthouses

The New Zealand Law Society monitors matters relating to courthouses through its national Courthouse Committee. The following information has been gathered from practitioners and Law Society branches around the country. It is intended to provide a quick summary of how lawyers see the facilities in our courthouses. Many lawyers were careful to stress that courthouse staff are in no way to blame when facilities are sub-standard.

Information on the workload at each courthouse has been included in the summary. This has been compiled from the latest statistics available for both District Court and High Courts on the Ministry of Justice’s website at 12 January – for the 2016 calendar year. It shows the proportion of all disposals for District or High Courts at a particular court. For example, Kaitaia District Court accounted for 1.0% of all district court criminal, civil and family applications disposed of. Auckland High Court accounted for 42.1% of all High Court criminal, civil, insolvency and appeals disposed of.

Where a courthouse is a combined District/High Court Registry this is shown with an asterisk.

Auckland

While it is working to full capacity and probably couldn’t cope with much of an increase in business, Auckland’s High Court is seen as providing good facilities. Wi-fi is operating and the court will be a fitting venue when Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias presides at the 2 March Special 150th Anniversary Sitting.

Lawyers are far less positive about the Auckland and Waitakere District Courts. Waitakere “should just be pulled down,” says one senior counsel. “You’d struggle to find a good thing to say about the courthouse.” A continued decline in maintenance spend and resource is seen as a key contributor to the problems at Waitakere and Auckland as in other areas. The public areas in Auckland District Court are shabby and dirty, practitioners say, the public toilets “disgraceful” and often blocked. One describes it as being “notoriously run-down and overcrowded”. While there are a lot of meeting rooms, they are small, without air conditioning, damaged and dirty, and sometimes with water on the floor. The second busiest court in the land, Auckland District Court, has just one AVL suite. It does have wi-fi.

The busiest, Manukau District Court, had a $51 million makeover in 2015 which added additional court and hearing rooms and this has improved the facility greatly, lawyers say. An AVL suite and wi-fi are available. While extra client meeting rooms are appreciated, one lawyer notes that they are sometimes too small to accommodate the extended families of Māori and Pacific clients. He says he’s sometimes had to hold a family briefing in the courtyard.

A major refurbishment of the Whangarei courthouse five years ago means there are now four and potentially six client interview rooms. Wi-fi access is something local lawyers want, and one practitioner says the soundproofing in the AVL suite could be improved.

Canterbury-Westland

The launch of the shiny new courthouse facilities in Christchurch in the last couple of months will take a while to bed in. While there is debate over its location in a complex, lawyers are hopeful facilities will be state-of-the-art.

It is “absolutely crucial” that the Ashburton courthouse is retained, say Leandra Fitzgibbon and Jane Argyle-Reed, co-chairpersons of the Ashburton Legal Practitioners Society. They say it would be disastrous for the local community if the courthouse were to be closed and court users forced to travel to either Timaru or Christchurch – which are both at least an hour away. “The services provided by the Ashburton District Court need to be increased rather than further reduced.”

Ashburton practitioners say the lack of a resident Family Court Registrar is a significant issue. Clients experience considerable delays because a part-time Family Court Registrar is based in Christchurch. The courthouse also does not have enough rooms for duty solicitors to meet clients on a busy criminal list day. Lawyers say it would be preferable if there was a rearrangement or even an extension of the courthouse to provide at least two rooms for duty solicitors to interview clients in privacy. Another lawyer says as well as the poor interview facilities, a lack of available seating means some counsel have to sit in the public gallery.

One Timaru lawyer describes the courthouse facilities there as “superb”. “Fantastic”, says another. “We’re probably better provided than other lawyers in most other parts of the country.” The lawyers say the Timaru courthouse is well equipped with AVL and has four interview rooms available for their use.

Across the island in Greymouth there is a relatively new courthouse which one lawyer says is “quite a nice place for jury trials”. AVL is now available, with one small concern being the lack of speakers in client interview rooms to let lawyers know that a matter has been called. The Westport courthouse is a lot smaller, but a “very well run” court, the lawyer says.

Gisborne

Gisborne branch President Alison Bendall says the Gisborne bar has raised its concerns about the region’s courthouses with the Ministry of Justice. “Simply put, some of the courthouses are no longer meeting the purpose within their current footprint,” she says. Modern needs and many more people in an old building are behind the problems. Jurors must occupy the same space as the defendants who are called for the list that day. Gisborne has one “very good” large courtroom but the other which is used for criminal matters is inadequate in terms of space, with counsel “squished” in and little room for the defendants.

Hawke’s Bay

The lack of wi-fi is a concern at Napier courthouse, Hawke’s Bay branch President Maria Hamilton says. Another issue is that Napier defendants in criminal matters are having to travel to Hastings. “This is a real problem when many have no reliable transport and the public transport is not great.”

Manawatu

“The Palmerston North courthouse is an amalgam of modern and outdated facilities. It requires upgrade and maintenance,” says one lawyer, echoing the general view that necessary maintenance is taking far too long. “While the cells … are now being upgraded (slowly), they are of a very poor standard and unfit for habitation – this has been the case for years,” the lawyer notes. The air conditioning died at the end of 2017, apparently because the units were not kept serviced – and not helped by the ministry people responsible for air conditioning being based in Tauranga. The lack of wi-fi at the courthouse irks many practitioners along with the slow progress on AVL facilities for witnesses in remote locations. Another lawyer says the waiting area outside the courtroom usually used for Family Court matters has the potential to be risky for both clients and lawyers. “Security is close by, but we are all conscious of how quickly a situation can escalate, especially in the context of emotional proceedings,” she says.

The facilities at Levin courthouse for lawyers are seen as good.

Marlborough

The striking design of the 1937-built Blenheim courthouse is appreciated by Marlborough lawyers. “The upgrade of the court was appropriate and preserved both the uniqueness of design and historical significance,” says one practitioner. Facilities for lawyers and clients are seen as adequate, although another custodial interview room would be appreciated as there are space problems on list days.

Far less appreciated is the region’s other court facility. The Kaikoura courthouse burned down in 2010 and has not been replaced. Court sittings (as a hearing Court) are held in the Kaikoura Memorial Hall. “Staff have to go down the day before to set it up. It is horrible compared to the tiny courthouse with the potbelly stove we had before. It is freezing in winter time,” says another lawyer. The courthouse is, however, one of the least utilised in the country with just 75 criminal cases disposed of during 2016.

Nelson

Nelson practitioners are generally happy with the court facilities, says Nelson branch President Gerard Praat. “The main ‘gripe’ is insufficient interview rooms on busy list days: there are seven in total, which is ‘hopeless’ when there are 6-8 or more lawyers floating around wanting to use the rooms to see clients.”

Mr Praat says the Crown believes there should be a security screen in the No.1 courtroom, following an assault on one of the Crown Prosecutors during a hearing in 2016. He says an occasional criminal court in Motueka has been suggested, but it’s acknowledged this could be expensive given the obvious security concerns. “There will always be occasions when we are squeezed but for the most part the facilities for lawyers and clients are perfectly adequate,” he says. Fully functioning air conditioning and more facilities for laptops in courtrooms and AVL/Powerpoint facilities for photos and documentary exhibits would be helpful. “Further, the ‘sensitive witness’ room is somewhat cumbersome and not overly user-friendly when utilised during jury trials.”

Otago

“It would be fair to say that the Dunedin court lawyers are extremely happy with the prospect of being back in our historic court building in January 2018,” says Otago branch President John Farrow. “The highly-anticipated work to reopen the Oamaru courthouse will start in February. The local practitioners in Oamaru are extremely grateful to the Waitaki District Council for taking ownership of the Victorian Heritage building and leasing it back to the ministry.”

Oamaru lawyers have been making do with a temporary prefabricated courthouse in the Brydon Hotel car park. One lawyer has described it as “woefully inadequate”. Poor client interview facilities and a tiny courtroom make lawyers’ work extremely difficult.

John Farrow says the Alexandra courthouse needs the public toilets refurbished, but the rest of the facility is “okay”. Local lawyers would appreciate more interview rooms, and the unavailability of AVL means jury trials must be held in Dunedin.

However, the Queenstown courthouse is increasingly unable to meet the demands placed on its facilities. There is no AVL booth, only a mobile unit. This means counsel taking instructions from defendants in custody need to make a trip to the prison in Invercargill, 187 km away.

Southland

Southland lawyers appear to be happy with the state of the two courthouses in the region. One lawyer describes Invercargill as “very good”, but sounds a warning about the Gore courthouse: “Gore lacks proper security for prisoners and there is going to be a major incident unless something is done to upgrade the cell area. In my view it is not safe for a single police officer to manage the prisoners and it is not safe as a lawyer to interview them in the cell areas.” He says there is no real privacy, and also notes that the Gore District Court “desperately” needs AVL.

Another lawyer would like improved access in the Invercargill courthouse to client interview rooms for people in cells. At the moment lawyers with arrested clients need to walk through courtrooms 1 and 2, which can be disquieting for out-of-town judges unfamiliar with the layout.

Taranaki

The Family Court in New Plymouth is no longer customarily convened in the dedicated Family Courtroom, but in the main court area. No separate waiting area means there is often a wait while a criminal list is being held and this is wholly inappropriate for Family Court matters, says Taranaki branch President Alex Laurenson.

He says there are no facilities for lawyers in the main court, with just public toilets available, which raises issues of safety. Lawyers have no tea or coffee facilities and the law library is in an adjacent building “so you cannot wait for a matter to be called in the library as there is no way of knowing if your matter has been called”.

Waikato Bay of Plenty

The Waikato Bay of Plenty branch has the most courthouses and it appears that it has the most issues with the facilities offered.

The Rotorua court building is a “disgrace” in the eyes of Auckland barrister Sam Wimsett. After a three-week trial at the Rotorua High Court at the end of 2017 Mr Wimsett was motivated to write to the new Justice Minister Andrew Little. “In a city where both Crown and defence counsel are of a high quality, the local bench has an excellent reputation and Court staff are pleasant and efficient, it is unbelievable that the facilities could be so poor,” he said.

Among the problems he encountered were just two dark, cramped and non-soundproof meeting rooms in the cells for four courtrooms, accessible only through the Court’s back entrance, and often with a queue of waiting counsel. One first floor toilet serves for counsel, police and witnesses. The law library, once available for case preparation, with tea and coffee facilities and a toilet, had been closed because of high levels of mould. Wi-fi still doesn’t exist at the Rotorua courthouse. The screen used to remove witnesses from view was partly an old projector screen with “a piece of plastic that had brown paper taped over it”. The Ministry of Justice has since confirmed it is looking for solutions to some of the concerns.

Tauranga courthouse also has problems and branch President Russell Boot says local lawyers are “not at all happy”. About 40 defence counsel share a morning tea and lunch kitchen with the Crown and trial witnesses. The one unisex toilet is frequently blocked by tree roots. The Registrar’s Court and the Main Court are in different buildings, and – as in Rotorua – there is no internal access to the cells for lawyers, who have to leave the courthouse and walk around to the cell area. Counsel frequently have to speak with clients in the public area, with interview rooms mainly reserved for duty lawyers or Justices of the Peace.

“The general feeling is that the Hamilton courthouse is adequate,” says Mr Boot. “Where its issues lie is the sheer volume of work that is now coming through this court. At present some District Court jury trials are being held in our High Court building. There are ongoing challenges with the increased volume of work done by AVL and ensuring access to justice is not compromised by this.” He notes that he has been told alterations to AVL facilities are planned for 2018.

There are some concerns at the state of some smaller courts such as Morrinsville and Huntly, Mr Boot says. Whakatane lawyers are also not happy with their courthouse. The criminal dock is seen as a safety hazard and one lawyer says the court itself is “rather dirty”, with the cells uncleaned for some time. Two formal interview rooms and the use of the old fines department as a third are seen as not meeting requirements. In Opotiki the courthouse has two “very small” client interview rooms, again seen as insufficient to meet needs on court days.

Wellington

“Adequate but not impressive,” is how Wellington branch President David Dunbar describes the general state of the region’s courthouses. The most serious criticism heard is around security at the Hutt Valley District Court where the building layout means security officers are stationed quite a distance from the waiting areas and courtrooms.

The region lost the Upper Hutt District Court a few years ago following its merger with the Lower Hutt Court. “We’ve also lost the use of the Cleary Room at the High Court, and more lately the whole second level of the Law Society Library, which in turn has meant that the old robing room has been rededicated to storage of library books and materials.”

The Chatham Islands court had the lowest number of case disposals in 2016, with just 39. However, it more than fulfils the 64 km distance criteria set in the 1980s and is also a valuable symbol of New Zealand justice.

Whanganui

“Whanganui lawyers are happy that we still have facilities in Ohakune, Taihape, Marton and Whanganui,” says Whanganui branch President Mark Bullock. “In an ideal world the Marton and Ohakune courts would have been staffed with some form of Registry, but we make do.”

Mr Bullock says each of the four courthouses has deficiencies and while the facilities could be better, they are “adequate”. Marton’s change from Registry to hearing centre caused some inconvenience and there are indications the courthouse is no longer being maintained to the standard it was previously. There are some problems at Ohakune, with no interview rooms, a very small waiting room and no secure cell facilities, as well as potential security issues especially for judges entering and leaving the courthouse. The ministry describes the Ohakune courthouse on its website as a Hearing Centre operating on an “as required basis”.

Whanganui’s No 1 courtroom is the only one able to accommodate jury trials and when that happens, list days need to be held in No 2 courtroom. Mr Bullock says the Law Society and Ministry of Justice are discussing how No 2 can be renovated to address health and safety concerns arising from its current layout. Inadequate seating in the public gallery on busy list days, and defendants walk to the dock in close proximity to counsel and the Police. Remedial progress is “slow”.

Comments from Ministry of Justice

The ministry was given a copy of this article before publication. Fraser Gibbs, General Manager Commercial and Property, provided the following comments:

The Ministry of Justice continues to invest and maintain its building stock, upgrading facilities and adding new technology services.

The ministry manages a wide range of properties, some of which we own, and others that we lease. They vary in age from brand new developments, through to heritage buildings, some of which are more than 100 years old.

In addition to our courthouses spread throughout New Zealand, we also have a range of offices for the 29 tribunals and authorities we support, and the other services the Ministry provides.

We’re conscious that some of buildings, such as the courthouse in Rotorua, have a range of maintenance issues, and are investigating options to address them.

Even so, the ministry continues to invest in its building stock. In recent years, we have spent:

• $300 million on the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct in Christchurch.
• $51 million on a significant expansion and refurbishment of the Manukau District Court.
• $20 million on the strengthening and refurbishment of Dunedin’s historic courthouse, while operating a temporary court in High Street.
• $3.9 million upgrade of the New Plymouth courthouse.
• $3.8 million upgrade of the Waitakere courthouse.
• $1.4 million upgrade of the Taumarunui courthouse.
• $3.1 million upgrade of the Tokoroa courthouse (just commenced).
• Kaikohe courthouse upgrade – finalising contract and start date.
• More than $9 million annually on facilities maintenance.
• More than $4 million annually on cleaning services.

We’re also undertaking a significant national investment programme of work in our custodial cells to improve health and safety of the people who are held there, and the Police and Corrections officers who supervise them.

In addition to this work on the structure of our buildings, we’re also continuing to introduce new technology. There is an ongoing expansion of audio-visual links between courts and prisons to enhance access to justice and improve services. AVL makes courts safer by reducing the likelihood of violent incidents, including escapes when defendants are transported to court and back again. Additionally, when appearing by AVL prisoners do not have to spend long days travelling or waiting in court cells for what are often brief procedural appearances.

Additionally, we’re also investigating options to extend wi-fi to more courthouses to improve services to lawyers and others who work in them. Wi-fi is currently available in the Auckland, Manukau, Waitakere and North Shore district courts, the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct in Christchurch, the Auckland and Wellington High Courts, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Environment Court and Waitangi Tribunal in Wellington.