5 Nov 2015

Cellphone thrown at lawyer's head

9:29 am on 5 November 2015

A security review of New Zealand's courtrooms is needed after a Crown prosecutor was injured when someone in the public gallery of a courtroom threw a cellphone at her head, says the Law Society.

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Photo: 123rf.com

Law Society vice-president Mark Wilton said the prosecutor was appearing on a bail matter at the Nelson District Court on Monday when the cellphone was thrown at her head.

The phone broke on impact and the woman has been off work since.

"The freedom of lawyers to appear in court and to participate in our justice system without the fear that they will be assaulted or injured is extremely important," said Mr Wilton.

He said the court's security staff were not to blame.

"We know they carry out an important and demanding job well. However, any serious incident such as this must be followed with a comprehensive reassessment of security levels and measures."