RIP Judge Adeane

Stuff reports:

One of New Zealand’s longest serving judges has died, just two year after leaving the bench.

Judge Tony Adeane, 72, passed away in Napier on Saturday after a period of illness.

Adeane became a District Court judge in 1993 and presided over more than 630 jury trials and countless other hearings, mostly in Hawke’s Bay, before reaching the compulsory retirement age of 70 in 2020. 

He was known locally for his firm but fair manner. He had a dry-wit that could bring a full courtroom to laughter, and a gravitas that could bring it to reverential silence.

A busy list day would see Adeane deal with more than 140 people, many of whom he’d come to know through a decade or more of court appearances. Respect was often, but not always, mutual, and he had little patience if he thought he was being given the runaround by defendants, lawyers, police, or anyone else.

A very good judge, and not one to be trifled with. He jailed one person for 28 days for calling him the c word.