File copies removed by Justice Dept clerk — witness

Press, 17 February 1983, Page 3

File copies removed by Justice Dept clerk — witness

PA Wellington Two women who had been granted immunity from prosecution gave evidence in the trial of four Justice Department clerks in the High Court at Wellington yyesterday. • They are Mary McCartney Hay and Marie Elizabeth Sims, both part-time clerks in the minor offence section of the Justice Department. The trial began last week before Mr Justice Greig and a jury of Michael Pete Waluzewski, aged 25. Kevin Joseph McGlinchey, aged 24, David John Thompson, aged 26. and Linda Anne McQuade, aged 24. The four denied conspiring with one another and other persons to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice. They are charged with interfering with proper court procedures in relation to notices of traffic prosecution filed by the Ministry of Transport in the District Court at Wellington in respect of parking infringements said to have been committed by themselves and others. The four have also denied alternative charges of wil-

fully attempting to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice by returning the notices to the District Court for the purpose of having the notices filed not served, while knowing they had been served. Mrs Hay told the court yesterday that she and Mrs Sims were sending out minor offence notices when Mrs Sims came across one for Kevin McGlinchey.

"She wondered if it was Kevin McGlinchey who was the assistant deputy registrar on our section,” Mrs Hay said. "At lunchtime when we were in the cafeteria, Kevin McGlinchey came in and she asked him if his middle name was Joseph and if he lived at a certain address in Upper Hutt. He said, ‘yes.’ She told him that she had just sent out a minor offence notice to him,” Mrs Hay said. Mrs Hay said that a few days later McGlinchey came into their office and asked where the two file copies of the notice were. She told him where the file was and he removed them, she said. “As far as I can remember he made a comment to the effect that ‘it was the only perk you got in this job’,”

Mrs Hav said.

Mrs Hay said they had gradually got to know the names of the people round the District Court.

"If we saw one of their names we would take that file out and take it to the assistant deputy registrar,” she said.

Asked why she took the staff notices to the assistant deputy registrar, Mrs Hay said, “With him taking it the first time, we did not know if he wanted the rest of the staff notices taken out. They were only going to come back in anyway.” Mrs Hay said she expected them to be “taken out of the system somehow — not served or something like that.”

She told the Court that the practice of taking notices to the assistant deputy registrar continued until August, 1982. Once McGlinchey was no longer assistant deputy registrar in that section, Waluszewski took over and he was succeeded by McQuade. During that time the notices were not posted out. Mrs Hay said. Also giving evidence at the trial was Kathryn Janice Watkins, an assistant deputy registrar in the District Court at Wellington. Miss Watkins said that in August last year she was passing by McQuade’s desk when McQuade asked her to sign two minor offence notices. The notices were addressed to McQuade and endorsed, “Not served.”

“I presumed that the registered letter had been sent out and returned not served." Miss Watkins said. It was much later that she found that they had not been sent out and returned in the normal manner. The trial will continue today.