Yes measuring your penis in court probably is a bad idea

The Herald reports:

The lawyer for a Kapiti councillor found guilty of indecent assault says the measuring of her client’s penis was a trial tactic that misfired.
David Scott is appealing both his conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal in Wellington.
Scott was found guilty of indecent assault after he pressed himself against a female Kāpiti Coast District Council employee during a morning tea break in April 2017.
The 72-year-old was fined $1500 for the indecent assault.

During the trial last year, Scott’s penis was measured by a doctor with a wooden ruler to determine if it was the same length as what the victim felt pressing into her.
The measurement was suppressed.

Yes having your penis measured in court is probably a very bad idea as a defence strategy.

But as I understand it, this was a demand made by the defendant’s lawyer, not the prosecution, or the judge, and certainly not the jury!

So hard to see how this becomes grounds for appeal, but of course that is for the Judge to decide.

Crown lawyer at the appeal Simon Barr said none of the disputed decisions were fundamental trial decisions, but were all decisions of trial tactics or strategy.
He said those tactics were used by one of the most senior defence lawyers in Wellington who was well respected across the country.
“This was not a situation where there was a relatively junior trial counsel making decisions, quite the contrary.”

His original lawyer was Mike Antunovic. He is indeed one of the most experienced defence lawyers in NZ, having appeared before the Privy Council and all the courts below it.