Court staff member had parking tickets

Press, 3 December 1982, Page 15

Court staff member had parking tickets

PA Wellington The Ministry of Transport took action when it found that a staff member of the District Court at Wellington had a large number of parking tickets which had not been served, the Commission of Inquiry into the Court's administration has been told. Chief Traffic Officer David Allo said he became aware that a certain person had a large number of documents that had not been served. He took action after that, he said. The commission, comprising Mr Peter. Hillyer. Q.C.: a former Secretary of Justice. Mr Eric Misseri: and a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police. Mr Gideon Tait, went into committee to hear the person's identity and the number of tickets involved. Parts of the inquiry are being held in private so that the High Court trial of four Wellington District Court clerks, on February 7, will not be prejudiced. The clerks are charged with attempting to pervert or defeat the course of justice in the handling of minor traffic offence notices.

In evidence for the Ministry of Transport. Traffic Sergeant lan James said that since the beginning of 1980, the number of minor offence files held at the District Court had seemed extremely high. In the minor offence section of the Court there were four stacks of documents each standing nearly a metre high. Mr James said that towards the middle of the year the stockpile of documents grew larger, and complaints by Court staff about their workload and lack of staff increased. "Once. Justice Department staff from outside Wellington came in to assist and the backlog of notices diminished rapidly," he said. Mr James said that in 1981. 8700 minor , traffic offence notices were not served in the District Court at Wellington. That was 47 per cent of the total number not served throughout New Zealand. He agreed that people seemed to evade service of summons in Wellington more than anywhere else in New Zealand.