KEY POINTS:
A Wanganui District Court judge was left "singularly unimpressed" when high profile lawyer Chris Comeskey failed to show up at the start of a pre-trial hearing in the Waiouru medals theft case today.
However, Mr Comeskey said he did phone the court to say he was unable to attend because he was ill.
He said he had gone back through his cell phone log and it showed he called the court twice between 9.08 and 9.14am.
In the Wanganui District Court this morning, Judge Michael Radford postponed proceedings until Monday.
Mr Comeskey represents one of the two men, aged 37 and 39, accused of stealing the medals in a daring heist from Waiouru Army Museum last December.
The two men have name and image suppression.
Judge Radford said he was "singularly unimpressed" that Mr Comeskey had not communicated his absence to the court and asked his client to pass the message on.
Mr Comeskey said Judge Radford could be "singularly uninformed".
"My state of health is not something that he ought to be entering those sorts of opinions on," he said.
Mr Comeskey said he had contacted another lawyer to act as an agent for him.
Mr Comeskey helped broker the return of the 96 valour medals, including nine Victoria Crosses, in February.
He is resisting moves to have him called as prosecution witness.
- NZ HERALD STAFF & NZPA
