Napier barrister Jo Rielly has been appointed a judge of the district court and will move to Nelson.
The appointment has been announced by Attorney-General David Parker, and she will be sworn in as Judge Rielly at a special court sitting in Napier on June 11.
She is currently part of the Napier and Gisborne region Crown prosecution team based with Napier firm Elvidge and Partners, of which she is a partner.
Rielly was a police prosecutor in Hastings from 1994 to 2006, including being a police Eastern District prosecution services manager and attaining the rank of inspector in 2005.
She then joined Elvidge and Partners and now joins three of the firm's other former partners in the district court judiciary.