Lawyer on discipline charges

Criminal lawyer Christopher Harder was back before the Auckland District Law Society's disciplinary tribunal yesterday fighting charges that he failed to wear a jacket and to stand when questioning a witness in court.

The hearing was held in private and the Law Society has refused to discuss the case, which was adjourned until a later date.

Mr Harder faces a number of counts including being aggressive, argumentative and hostile towards Judge Cecilie Rushton during a district court trial in 2002.

Judge Rushton, represented by Paul Davison, QC, was summonsed as a witness yesterday.

The counts also refer to Mr Harder failing to wear a jacket during a Crown address and failing to stand when questioning a witness.

He has also been accused of breaching rules of professional conduct by not acting in the best interests of his client.

In his defence Mr Harder has said that he was wearing a heavy shirt when it was really hot and that he simply omitted to stand briefly following two days of normal seated questioning of two young witnesses.

Mr Harder's actions led to the jury's verdict being regarded as "unsafe" by the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial. This resulted in the same four convictions being entered against the accused.

Another count alleges Mr Harder demanded more money during the 2002 trial from the accused, who cannot be named because of the involvement of two children in the case.

Unproven claims include an allegation that Mr Harder drank alcohol in court during the trial.

Mr Harder has appeared before the disciplinary tribunal in 1991, 1992, 1994 and in 2000, costing him about $150,000 in fines and costs.

Last year he was censured, fined $1750 and ordered to pay $4602 in costs following a courtroom scuffle.