ANZ head of retail banking Kerri Thompson says she is confident the bank will "come out in the clear" in a legal case claiming it has charged excessive penalty fees to customers.

Britain's Attorney-General is to review the 15-month jail sentence given to Stuart Hall, the disgraced BBC presenter, for a 20-year campaign of sexual abuse against young girls.

There is no good reason for Jamie Peters' bankruptcy to be extended as he faces Official Assignee claims he still has control of significant assets.

For nearly 20 years, solo mum Ginny Walker has had to keep a watchful eye on her son Jarrod, almost 24 hours a day.

Disgraced lawyer Barry Hart has lost his bid to take his fight against the decision to strike him off to the Court of Appeal.

The number of international child abduction cases before New Zealand courts is soaring, as the cost of court action forces desperate parents to go on the run.

Greymouth Petroleum director Jim Sturgess must take primary responsibility for the "destruction of trust" between himself and two other board members at the oil and gas company.

At least two judges were among 21 court staff assaulted in courtrooms in the past two years, documents released under the Official Information Act show.

The new leaner legal aid system is unlawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled. But the system will continue unchanged for now while officials prepare advice for Justice Minister Judith Collins.

In 1991 Ranta, who is now 58, was convicted of shooting dead a rabbi, Chaskel Werzberger, during a botched jewellery robbery in Brooklyn, New York.

After a riot at Perth's Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre, more than 140 teenage inmates were moved to Hakea high security prison

Almost 10,000 houses are affected by an Environment Court decision on pre-1940s demolition consents, a planner says.

The Greens have joined the Maori Party in calling for a review of the jailing of Teina Pora, who has served 20 years for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett.

A controversial website designed by a victims' lobby group to highlight judges' decisions has been launched today.

A $1,000 fine may have to be imposed for anyone avoiding jury service, a judge says.

Struck-off Auckland lawyer Barry Hart has failed in his latest bid to stop the mortgagee sale of one of his properties by the ANZ bank.

High-profile West Coast criminal lawyer Doug Taffs has been suspended from practising law for three months for bringing the legal profession into disrepute.

A woman charged with manslaughter over the methadone death of a nine-year-old Raetihi boy can now be revealed as the child's mother.

A coroner has found that an incident in which a man suffered fatal injuries when he fell down a flight of stairs 17 years ago was not an accident.

Two former fire systems contractors have been jailed for stripping buildings of potentially life-saving firefighting equipment.

Courts can make mistakes. The High Court at Auckland has surely made an egregious one in a case we have reported today.

A 31-year-old woman fraudulently obtained $38,000 in benefits over a three-year period. What sentence should she get? You be the judge.

Convicted double murderer David Tamihere has been found not guilty of breaching his parole conditions after an "incredibly stupid" crime scene fly-over with a TV crew.

Assaults, sex offences, fraud and burglary are among almost 2900 crimes which went unpunished, according to the latest statistics.

At present, 72 per cent of NZs judges are male and 28 per cent are female, writes Catriona MacLennan. NZ has a long way to go, both in terms of gender and of ethnicity, but recognising the issue would be a good start.

A relative of the 9-year-old Raetihi boy - who died after he had allegedly been given a dose of methadone - hopes an arrest over the death will end speculation.

A globetrotting conman who came to New Zealand on a purported $69 million property spending spree will spend the next 14 years in prison in the United Kingdom.