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South Canterbury community calling retiring District Court Judge Joanna Maze

July 1, 2022 by www.stuff.co.nz

Retiring Judge Joanna Maze, is looking forward to losing her anonymity in the South Canterbury community she loves but has remained at arm's length from for the past 11 years.

Maze, Timaru’s resident District Court judge since September 2011, finished her final court sitting on Friday with “a courtesy farewell between bench and bar” and told The Timaru Herald she made the decision to retire “when I knew that I was beginning to run out of energy … and a sense that I wanted to have some time left still to do things for myself”.

“It’s a job where you have to maintain a degree of separateness in your life, and that does suit my personality, and this has been a wonderful community to be part of, but I’m ready to be more part of it and that isn’t entirely consistent with being a judge in a small community,'' she said.

“South Canterbury really is a delightful community. The people have good values, it is a caring community, it is an ideal size. It’s more like a big village really.

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“It’s been a privilege to work in the community, but equally I think it is important to recognise that the job requires a degree of isolation and that means there is a limit to how involved you can be.”

That separateness means she has no association with the one of the biggest societal changes in the world since she was first appointed a judge in Hamilton in 2001 – social media.

“I don’t have a social media account. I don’t use social media.

“The minute a Google inquiry latches on to Facebook or something else it’s gone as far as I’m concerned.

“I can’t afford to be influenced by other people’s opinions or views because that would not be consistent with my oath, and frankly I prefer to get my information from informed sources.

“So social media does not affect me. I am sure there are probably all sorts of interpretative and supportive remarks floating about after every list day or sentencing day, but my job isn’t a popularity contest and I can’t afford to be affected by it.”

Maze simply says she could not hear cases where she has a connection with witnesses or parties “and so to be able to function as a judge you’ve really just got to keep apart”.

“So I guess that means I’ve got a limited capacity to comment on the community other than my own personal experience, but it has been very welcoming and delightfully varied.”

She agrees it is a take home job and “from that point of view I’ve been hugely fortunate with my husband [Julian] who is a qualified lawyer''.

"He’s very understanding, he’s retired, but he’s helpful, my family, my children. Two of my three children are lawyers. There was one that got away and did medicine. They all understand, and they are a wonderful support really.

“It’s the shedding of that responsibility which I think I’m looking forward to most.

“I absolutely do [know it’s time to move one].''

Being in a small community, one becomes "less anonymous'', she said.

“A judge in a big city might be one of 15 or 20, so there’s a great amount of anonymity really but here I can’t walk in the street without seeing people I have seen or dealt with or had on juries or had as witnesses or had some contact with in one way or another, and I feel a far greater sense of responsibility towards them.

"If something goes wrong and best laid plans go awry, I feel that responsibility. I’ve let them down, so I’m looking to pass that baton on to someone else.”

After finishing her law degree, Maze was at home in Nelson with her children for 10 years "which was another privilege".

"I had a wonderful time. And then I became a staff solicitor and then a partner in my husband’s firms and then on appointment we went to Hamilton for around 10 years.

"Then the opportunity came up to be sole judge here [Timaru] and we leapt at it because we love the South Island."

Her appointment to Timaru ended an 11-year stretch of no resident judge in the town.

While there are many moments she will remember, "most of those are in the Youth Court and I can’t say very much without disclosing the identities of these people, but it’s always a delight to see a young person go from being monosyllabic, embarrassed, inarticulate, to gaining confidence over the course of a plan and having family support".

"One of the best moments was when a swag of people turned up with guitars and sang basically to support a young person finishing. Another highlight was a young man who three years later sent on a photo of himself in full military dress/uniform having joined an army. That kind of thing is lovely.

"Youth Court work is the most uplifting, but it is also sometimes some of the saddest. I remember two suicides and that’s deeply affecting and of course other tragedies that occur."

When looking at the significant changes in the judicial system, Maze says there are types and different kinds of sentences, particularly with an emphasis on rehabilitation.

"Under intensive supervision you can do judicial monitoring which has allowed judges, if they wish, to meet with some offenders as they progress through the sentence.

"It allows you to get more insight, to be encouraging, that they do matter and in fact to get the reward then of seeing the progress they make.

"So judicial monitoring has been an opportunity for some highs.

"Then sometimes there are just some plain funny things that happen, and you can’t help it, they just are funny, and I know that, not to recognise the harm that’s been done or the wrong that’s been done, just funny, but I can’t identify those in particular without perhaps causing some embarrassment.''

And then to the lows, she said.

"Generally, I think the worst things are that you can’t unsee and unhear some of the terrible things that people do to each other.

"And that’s what keeps you awake at one in the morning."

Maze said another major change for judges was being required to engage in a much more structured process in sentencing.

"We are required to indicate a starting point, identify offence mitigating and aggravating factors, and personal mitigating and aggravating factors and I think that makes the sentencing exercise more comprehensible to anyone who cares to read beyond the first sentence.

"I think that’s a huge improvement. I think it is a form of outreach really and a form of mental discipline for the judge, so I think that has been a good change."

Maze also believes the provision of more reports is beneficial also meaning judges are getting more information about people which is "fundamental because it helps to break down the cultural divide between a judge and an offender".

"The Sentencing Act says that rehabilitation is one of the aims of sentencing.

"You can’t provide adequately for rehabilitation if you don’t understand what makes people tick, who they are and why there where they are.

"I think mainstreaming of restorative justice has been a huge boost … it’s a huge boost, it’s a disappointment when some cases that are obvious sitters for it, and it doesn’t go ahead because it re-empowers victims first and foremost, it informs victims, it helps them get over their trauma and also empowers the defendant because it allows them to understand, to see what they’ve done and to express their apologies.

"All too often bail conditions and police requirements keep people apart when we know that a face-to-face meeting and an apology that’s genuinely met can work wonders, and I’ve seen some wonderful outcomes from restorative justice."

Maze thinks the system needs to "break down what I see as relatively siloed​ thinking between the law and science and medicine".

"I think we could start to break down that kind of thinking and embrace what we know is database scientific evidence, its established yet we not using it.

"The other area I like to see change is the resourcing of the therapeutic interventions.

"I think Kensington [Timaru's mental health and addiction services base] is wonderful, and they do a wonderful job, and we are fortunate.

"They’ve had shining star reports from unannounced Ombudsman visits, the same can’t be said for some our other areas around the country.''

Probation needs more resources, the prisons need more resources, she said.

"We know that if people going into prison with low literacy, low numeracy, low education, and they keep going round and round then we know we haven’t done something about that.

"That’s a starting point to getting a job which is a highly protective factor. It’s a starting point to them having some money in their pocket which is a highly protective factor.

Y''ou know we just need so much more. We need to recognise what we know about the mental health status and the addiction status of so many of the people."

For Maze, the future will be family, gardening, "everybody says gardening" she quips, "biking, because I have an e-bike, but South Canterbury is a biking heaven".

She is also interested in birds of prey – raptors.

"For example, The Timaru Herald did a wonderful article on Tom the harrier recently and its whetted my appetite to make contact, and I'm assuming it's an organisation you can be a member of.

"I'm fascinated, we live in the country and I love birds of prey. I think they are fantastic things.''

Music and drama are other areas of interest.

"The drama league is a great organisation.

"I might do more study, might go down to Dunedin to do the odd unit which might involve a little bit of travel.

"I intend to do a bit more music. I play a spinet​, a little tiny harpsichord, a replica of a 1765 instrument and my old teacher in Hamilton used to say if you’ve got a harpsichord or a spinet your main occupation really is in maintenance.

"You’ve got to become a handyman because strings ping, and the whole thing is very hands-on. It’s like driving a Morris Minor really and at the moment it needs some work, so I haven’t played for some time."

Maze said it is a future of all sorts.

"More exercise. This is a very sedentary job. The end result is your base broadens. I’m looking forward to more exercise and getting out and about."

A spokesperson from the Chief District Courts Judges' Chambers said the appointment process to replace Maze is underway and an announcement would be made in the "usual manner'' from the Attorney-General's Office in due course.

The Timaru Herald

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