Ruling in Herald's favour

Justice Wilson and retired appellate judge Sir Edmund Thomas (pictured) went to court after the emails were published. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A court bid has failed to force the Herald to remove from its website the Bill Wilson email trail that led to a Judicial Conduct Panel investigation into the Supreme Court judge's conduct.

Justice Wilson and retired appellate judge Sir Edmund Thomas went to court after the Herald published the emails and a story on them last Friday.

But a full panel of High Court judges found that the publication was not in breach of any court orders as orders suppressing publication had not been made.

Justices John Wild, Forrest Miller and Graham Lang noted that Justice Wilson was now seeking suppression orders binding everyone, including the media.

The court said that if Justice Wilson was to apply for such suppression orders, he "will need to identify a proper ground(s)" and to notify the Herald and NBR so they can be heard.

Acting Attorney-General Judith Collins appointed the panel to investigate Justice Wilson's disclosures about his business relationship with Queen's Counsel Alan Galbraith.

The heart of the issue is the failure of the Supreme Court judge to promptly disclose he was directly or indirectly indebted to Mr Galbraith at the time the QC was appearing before him in an $8 million case.

Justice Wilson is seeking a court ruling to stop the panel inquiry, arguing that his alleged misconduct did not meet the threshold of being a sackable offence.

Click here to read the aforementioned article and email correspondence.