Justice William Young joined the Supreme Court in 2010. Photo / Supplied
Justice William Young joined the Supreme Court in 2010. Photo / Supplied
He holds a place on our most powerful court and has spent decades ruling on some of the country's biggest cases, but for Justice William Young, the garden is calling.
Justice Young is retiring from his spot today on the bench of the Supreme Court after 25 years as a judge.
While he hasn't given much thought yet to what comes next, the first thing to come to mind is gardening.
It's a peaceful way to spend a day compared to what he has been doing – making decisions on some of New Zealand's most important court cases.
The Supreme Court is essentially the final word on the law in New Zealand, and a position on the bench carries a great deal of weight, but Justice Young says "pressure" is not the right way to describe what the role brings with it.
"[It's] a sort of responsibility, taking time to try and get it as right as we can," he said.
The judges don't always agree either.
"There are quite a lot of 3-2 decisions. We try to agree if we can, we try to iron out differences that aren't consequential and come up, if possible, with a text that we can all sign off on."
Some of the cases he has sat on include Kim Dotcom's extradition, the ban on prisoners' right to vote, and an attempt by Kawerau siege shooter Rhys Warren to have his conviction overturned on the basis of Māori sovereignty.
Then in 2019 he was appointed to lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque terror attacks.
"It was a very intense experience," he said.
"I'm a pretty case-hardened old bloke, I've done a lot of criminal work ... it was still quite shocking.
"We basically saw all the victims and their families – people who were directly affected. We would meet them in their homes, cafes, libraries."
The case was "hugely detailed" with "tens of thousands of documents", and was complicated by the impending criminal trial.
"I guess I learned a lot about the way governments work, about the way diverse communities get on in New Zealand."
Justice Young graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1974 and became a High Court judge in 1997, and said while there would always be small things he might wish had gone differently, he held no "major regrets".
There are cases that have stuck with him, though.
Justice William Young is keen to spend more time on his hobbies, such as skiing, cycling and boating. Photo / Supplied
"I can think of a few criminal trials where the outcome either surprised me or alarmed me," he said.
"Two cases where men who I think should have been convicted and would have received lengthy sentences were largely acquitted and went on to commit murders."
Those men aside, Justice Young has managed to maintain "a reasonably favourable view of human nature and a reasonable tolerance for deviants".
"I don't think I've ever dealt with anyone who I didn't have empathy for. They've done some terrible things but there's always a back story."
He said that empathy was "critical", and one of the "fundamental requirements for a judge".
He didn't begin his career with any particular goal to become a judge – and the Supreme Court, which didn't even exist at the time, certainly wasn't in consideration.
"I don't think many people start out with that sort of goal in mind, particularly because it's so far in the distance it's hard to think about it in a sensible way."
Managing the work life balance has been "quite hard at times", with Justice Young commuting most weeks to Wellington from his home in Christchurch, which he started doing while his children were still in school.
"It's something I'll be quite happy to leave behind me," he said.
His wife might spend some time adjusting to having him home again, he joked.
"I will be in her hair more often."
Justice Young is a fan of the outdoors and plans to dedicate more time to skiing, cycling, boating and walking.
He will also be on standby as an acting judge when needed, and still has paperwork to finish off despite his retirement.
His final sitting is being held in the Supreme Court this afternoon.
Justice Young's career
Justice Young graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1974 with an LLB with first class honours and was awarded the Gold Medal in Law by the then Canterbury District Law Society for being the top graduating law student in his year.
He then completed a PhD at Cambridge University before returning to New Zealand to practise law in Christchurch. He was a partner in the firm RA Young Hunter & Co, before starting practice as a barrister in 1988.
He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel in 1991 and became a High Court Judge in 1997, was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2004, and became President of that Court in 2006.
He was promoted to the Supreme Court in 2010. From April 2019 to November 2020, Justice Young served as chair of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Christchurch terrorist attack.
