Police criticism of Law Society probe rejected

Press, 3 June 1983, Page 4

Police criticism of Law Society probe rejected

The president of the New Zealand Law Society, Mr Bruce Slane, has rejected criticism by the Police Association of the Government’s decision to have six lawyers named in the Stewart commission on drug trafficking investigated by the Auckland District Law Society. “There is no club atmosphere when a lawyer’s conduct is investigated by the Auckland District Law Society,” said Mr Slane yesterday. He said the proof, was in the performance of the society in dealing with complaints. It was the society’s information that had led to the prosecution of Mr E. P. Leary, who was named in the report. (A judge later dimissed the case when he found that there was insufficient evidence to give to a jury.) Mr Slane also said it was the Auckland society that had laid the complaint which led to the prosecution and conviction of R. J. Murfitt, who was referred to in the Stewart commission report. The Auckland society was the only body authorised by law to bring a law practitioner’s name before the New Zealand Law Practi-

tioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal, a body which sat in public and included independent non-lawyer members. “As far as I am aware it (the Law Society) has never been found to lack the capacity or the willingness to investigate and weed out those members of the profession who deserve to be disciplined,” said Mr Slane. He said that some sense of proportion needed to be maintained. “Although the alleged activities are serious from the point of view of the profession, they do not appear to be illegal. “It would be unfair to delay matters further with another inquiry,” Mr Slane said. The proper course was for the Law Society’s investigation to proceed and if the evidence could be found for the charges, ,for those charges to be brought and the lawyers to have the opportunity to defend themselves in public. Unlike the police who investigated themselves, the Law Society’s investigation was controlled by independent lawyers who were not employed by the same organisation as those investigated, said Mr Slane.

“The investigatory work would be carried out by the society’s staff, which is again quite independent of any of the practitioners involved and includes a qualified lawyer who was for some years a detective.” On Wednesday, the secretary of the Police Association, Dr R. A. Moodie, called for an independent inquiry into the activities of the lawyers named in the Stewart commission report. Dr Moodie last evening backed calls for the Attor-ney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr McLay, to step aside while lawyers named in the Stewart report are investigated.

Dr Moodie also said the three-man Committee of Inquiry headed by a Court of Appeal judge, Mr Justice Richardson, should make investigations of all the report’s recommendations. This committee was set up by Mr McLay to look into the misuse of the solicitor’s nominee company system and to recommend changes. On Wednesday Mr McLay said he had worked for Mr Peter Williams, who was named in the report, and rated Mr Leary a friend from school and university days.