A senior Crown prosecutor has been punched in the face by a defendant in court.
Richard Marchant says he was addressing the judge during a hearing in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday and even though four prison security officers were in court at the time the defendant managed to sidestep one of them and throw the punch.
Mr Marchant says it grazed his face; the defendant was then wrestled to the ground.
The prosecutor says in 30 years of court experience he has been threatened and abused but never assaulted until now.
He has made a formal complaint to police.
