Contempt decision for Cullen

Caretaker Attorney-General Michael Cullen will be asked to decide whether a lawyer who released a confidential Army report into a fatal bridge collapse on the internet should be charged with contempt of court.

Rob Moodie, who acts for Keith and Margaret Berryman, posted a report by former Army engineer George Butcher on the internet in April in defiance of a suppression order.

The Berrymans were blamed by Taumarunui coroner Tim Scott for not maintaining the army-built bridge which killed beekeeper Ken Richards when it collapsed in 1994.

But Dr Moodie claimed the report by Mr Butcher proved the Army was responsible.

The Defence Force complained Dr Moodie was in contempt of court by releasing the report, but declined to take a case against the lawyer, leaving the High Court without a complainant.

In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, Justice Tony Randerson said he had reservations about suggestions the case be brought by the court registrar although it was legally permissible.

The case was further complicated by the Berrymans seeking a judicial review of the Solicitor-General's decision not to reopen the coroner's inquest.

"Ordinarily, contempt proceedings should be left to the Attorney-General to avoid the risk of the court appearing to be both prosecutor and judge," he said.

Dr Moodie said said that he had no comment to make on the court's decision.

"They've been agonising about it for some months," he said.

When asked if he had been in contempt of court by publishing the Army documents, Dr Moodie said, "Some might say it ... there are ethical considerations involved in the information I possessed."

- NZPA