KEY POINTS:
One of the most colourful and at times controversial figures in New Zealand law has died.
Justice David Morris was known as a formidable prosecutor and later as a skilled and experienced High Court judge.
But to others he was known simply as "Maurice" who arrived in dungarees
and straw hat at Takapuna markets every Sunday to run his flower stall.
Justice Morris shot to fame as Crown prosecutor in the Crewe killings - one of New Zealand's most notorious murders. Arthur Allan Thomas was convicted but later pardoned and the case remains an enduring mystery.
But Justice Morris also found infamy as a judge when he summed up a rape case in 1996, telling the jury: "If every man throughout history had stopped the first time a woman said 'no', the world would be a lot less exciting place."
He was censured by then Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum for his comment - one of several reprimands he received.
In a Rotorua drug trial, he astounded lawyers by using the phrase "nigger in the woodpile" when talking about the defendant's role in the case.
He also raised eyebrows when he shouted everyone in the same trial sticky buns after winning the courtroom's Melbourne Cup sweepstake.
And the Court of Appeal set aside two of Justice Morris' murder trial verdicts, criticising his summing-up in one as "a series of addresses for the prosecution".
However, Justice Morris was also the successful prosecutor in scores of high-profile cases including that of David Tamihere, jailed for life for the murder of two Swedish tourists.
As a judge, he was famed for his keen intellect and was also called on to work on major inquiries including the National Women's Hospital cervical cancer inquiry, the Erebus commission of inquiry and investigations into the Mr Asia drug ring.
He retired in 2002, but stepped out of retirement to oversee the inquiry into alleged abuse at the Army cadet school in Waiouru in 2004.
Governor-General Anand Satyanand trained in the Crown Solicitor's Office under Justice Morris and last night described him as "the advocate others wanted to be like - hard-working, with a natural instinct for discerning the essence of a case for its strengths and weaknesses, but always functioning in the best traditions of the prosecution".
The Chief Justice, Dame Sian Elias, who is travelling overseas, said in a statement: "He was a fine lawyer and judge who gave many years of public service in New Zealand. He was a man of high courage, the utmost integrity, considerable modesty and great personal kindness."
Justice Morris, who had four children with his wife Barbara, was born in Dundee and moved to New Zealand in his teens, but never lost his Scottish accent. He was 73 when he died.
Auckland Crown Solicitor Simon Moore said Justice Morris "wove magic in the courtroom and was courageous as a lawyer. He did not mind who he took on and took cases with missionary zeal."
"He was a great traditionalist and could not abide pompousness."
Mr Moore also said Justice Morris was always troubled by the criticism he received over his comments in the rape trial.
"He was old school and believed he was assisting the jury. The wording was not ideal and he knew that. He was not insensitive to criticism and it troubled him a great deal."
Outside of the courts, Justice Morris was known as a family man and a loyal friend.
He ran a flower business with his wife, selling the blooms at a stall at Takapuna markets where everyone knew him as "Maurice", but most had no idea he was a High Court judge.
It is understood Justice Morris suffered a stroke and was in Auckland City Hospital for a short time before his death last Wednesday night.
