Our View: Judge right in doctor case

Our justice system has many faults.
Suppression is handed out too readily and it seems no one ever gets the maximum, no matter how heinous their crime. In fact, many would argue sentences are too soft across the board.
But in Tauranga District Court on Friday, the judge got it right.
As reported in the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend on Saturday, a former Tauranga doctor caught drink-driving at more than twice the legal limit failed to avoid having a conviction entered on her record.
Lisa Catherine Edwards, 40, was earlier found guilty of driving with a breath alcohol limit of 876 micrograms.
In a twist, her lawyer, Bill Nabney, questioned the media's interest in the case.
"Why is there so much media attention on a female professional trying to do well when there does not seem to be for her male counterparts?" he asked the court.
Judge Louis Bidois, quite rightly, shot down the lawyer's complaint, pointing out the fact Edwards was fighting the case was the reason.
From this newspaper's perspective, this case attracted attention for three reasons.
First, her occupation. Edwards spent time at Tauranga Hospital as a doctor and doctors are generally respected in our community. Rightly or wrongly, they are expected to role models.
Edwards was a senior union negotiator and vice-president for the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association. She left Tauranga Hospital in December.
Second is the fact she fought the charge. It is unusual for people to fight drink-driving charges because almost without fail they are open-and-shut cases.
A driver is either over or under and, unless the processing officer makes a technical mistake, it's nearly impossible to wriggle out of.
In this case, Edwards challenged the validity of the prosecution's evidence, claiming the arresting officer had breached the Bill of Rights and not carried out the necessary legal steps in her arrest. The court found the officer did everything right by the book.
Thirdly, as played out in court on Friday, Edwards sought a discharge without conviction because a police record would affect her overseas career prospects.
This bid has parallels with the recent case of AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, who also sought a discharge without conviction on a drugs charge. Unlike Edwards, Rudd had his cannabis conviction quashed on the grounds that it would have stopped him from continuing to tour with the rock band.
Clearly, there are no grey areas when it comes to drink-driving.
Police describe these cases as being like "conveyor belt" in Tauranga and other courts nearly every day. People from all walks of life, from fruit pickers to professionals, are getting caught.
There is little need to draw out the dangers of drink driving in this column. It is a well-documented fact that drink-drivers cause death and misery on our roads every week and police have been pouring in resources in an effort to stop them.
The Bay of Plenty Times is doing its bit by publishing the names of every drink driver who appears in the Tauranga court. These names are supplied by police under the Official Information Act.
And, like the justice system, there are no exceptions. It is not uncommon to have people ask the editor if their name or the name of a family member can be kept out the paper because the publicity will hurt them.
Our answer is always an emphatic "no". It doesn't matter who the person is or what they do.
Two things are certain for drink-drivers in Tauranga. Those caught will be convicted and their name published.
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