Man attacks judge and prosecutor in court

A police prosecutor and a judge were attacked by a man in the Nelson District Court this morning.

Nelson Police Inspector Brian McGurk said police were alerted to the attack on the men, about 10am, shortly after the court session began.

It was unclear whether the attacker was appearing before the court or was a member of the public, Mr McGurk said.

The judge was believed to be Judge Geoff Ellis, he said.

Mr McGurk said the man was in custody but had not yet been charged.

Nelson District Court registrar John Houghton said the man had been appearing in the court as a defendant in a case at the time of the attack.

The court was disrupted for a short time but was now operating according to the schedule, he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said officials were waiting for an incident report about the assault before any comment could be made.

It was not known whether a review of court security was needed until security officials were able to investigate the assault, she said.

- NZPA