Common sense from the Judge

The Greymouth Star reports:

Robert Frank Terry, 58, is alleged to have made the threat in a letter to Justice Minister Judith Collins, and five others including Chief Justice Sian Ellias, West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O’Connor, Ministry of Justice chief executive Andrew Bridgman, and New Zealand Law Society president Jonathon Temm.

Terry has not entered “not guilty” pleas but has told a judge that he will be defending them.

Today, he sought from Judge David Saunders a relaxation of his bail conditions, which ban him from having contact with any MP or their staff. He was also banned from contacting Parliament itself, but is allowed to make submissions to select committees. Claiming that the conditions breached the Bill of Rights, Terry said: “The Crown cannot stop me from contacting Parliament”.

“When the allegation is that you were going to destroy or bomb it, it certainly can,” the judge countered.

Exactly – no rights are absolute. If you get sent to prison, you lose your right to liberty. If you send letters to MPs threatening to bomb Parliament, then you don’t get to keep harassing MPs and staff. History has shown that some of these threats turn real – with staff having been had weapons pulled on them etc.

“Nobody would deprive you of your right to make sensible submissions to Parliament but when they resort to threats, the recipients have every right to not want to speak to you.”

Declining Terry’s request, Judge Saunders said: “Mr Terry has, by his history, shown to be a persistent and at times thoroughly obnoxious litigant.

He has a history of making communications that are threatening and disturbing to the person receiving them.”

Takes a lot I suspect to have a Judge label you obnoxious.