Levin District Court. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Justice officials are investigating another courthouse attack on a lawyer, prompting a plea from the Law Society president to make the centres of justice safer for everyone inside them.
The latest incident took place at the Levin courthouse in May, and the alleged offender is facing charges before the Youth Court.
Because of mandatory reporting restrictions on Youth Court matters RNZ is unable to name either the accused or the lawyer involved.
But RNZ has spoken to the lawyer, who says he is now okay. He cannot talk further on the matter while it is before the court.
News of the incident comes just days after family lawyer Brintyn Smith spoke out about being violently attacked in a lift at the Whangārei courthouse in March last year.
New Zealand Law Society president Frazer Barton said those incidents were making lawyers nervous about attending court.
"Going to court can be stressful. Tensions are running high. If you put people into close proximity it can be explosive."
He has met with Ministry of Justice officials and the district court head of bench Judge Heemi Taumaunu to discuss the steps the society believed needed to happen.
Courtrooms needed a redesign so, for example, opposing parties were not mixing. More security officers should be employed and interview rooms, where lawyers talked to clients, needed to have a safe way out.
Barton said courts were redesigned about 30 years ago to make sure judges had a secure entry away from everyone else, so change was possible.
The age of buildings was a factor too. Older courtrooms were designed when there was a more relaxed attitude to courtroom security.
Officials seemed willing to make changes, but there were financial constraints, he said.
Ministry chief operating officer Carl Crafar said he could not comment on the specifics of the Levin incident while it was before the court.
"The alleged offender was immediately detained by court security officers and was then arrested by police," he said.
"As with any serious incident, we will investigate what happened and involve relevant organisations, including the police and the New Zealand Law Society.
"Security measures, including screening and the presence of court security officers, remain in place at the courthouse."
The Levin courthouse is relatively modern, opening in 2010.
Barton said the Law Society was concerned to hear of the incident and increasing levels of violence.
"Our justice system does require physical appearances for people in courthouses and the system's not going to work if people can't turn up safely and get home safely at the end of the day," he said.
"We're living in a day when people who are involved in the court process are going through particularly difficult times in their lives.
"There seems to be a greater fragility out there in society in general and, unfortunately, a greater willingness to resort to violence."
Barton said despite the concerns about these assaults, and other recent incidents including a brawl in a Wellington courtroom, they should be put in context of the many thousands of court appearances nationwide.
He praised security measures already introduced, and also Brintyn Smith's decision to speak out about his ordeal - in a video released by the law society - because it shone a spotlight on the problem.
"When the details become known... that gets everyone throughout the country alarmed.
"As I travel round in my role meeting with practitioners from the top to the bottom of the country, they hear (about incidents) and it makes them quite nervous about going to court.
"We've got security to get in the court complexes. You're not going to have guns or knives or anything like that but, I'm afraid, history shows us that people can do a lot of damage just with their bare fists."
RNZ asked the ministry what recent improvements it had made to courtrooms to improve safety and what further work was planned.
Its deputy secretary for corporate service Kelvin Watson said officials met regularly with court users to discuss safety and security.
"Any issues raised about the condition of our courthouses will be investigated and if appropriate included in our property work programme," he said.
"The ministry is also working to improve security in courthouses through work like the dock upgrade programme, which will improve security by creating greater separation between defendants and court participants while also installing enhanced audio communication systems to allow the defendant to participate more easily in proceedings."
