A sportswoman convicted of drink driving after police appealed against a decision to dismiss the charge will suffer "real consequences" in her career, her lawyer says.
Casey Anne Mullany, 29, was originally granted name suppression and discharged without conviction on the basis it could impede her ability to compete overseas.
But the polocrosse player, who has represented New Zealand internationally, was convicted in Gisborne District Court this week after police successfully applied to the High Court to have the matter re-heard.
Judge Tony Adeane disqualified Mullany from driving for six months and ruled that she could finally be publicly named.
The decision was a good result for police, said Eastern District police spokeswoman Kris McGehan.
"Obviously we appealed the initial decision as it had been unfair, and we are pleased with the outcome."
Mullany's legal team has already appealed against the latest decision, which means her conviction and disqualification will be put on hold until the appeal is heard in the High Court.
Defence lawyer Zahir Mohamed who, along with lawyer Marcia Insley, represented Mullany, said his client was not happy with the outcome.
"She is very disappointed and very upset," he said.
"We are not giving it up."
If the conviction was upheld, it could affect her ability to compete in polocrosse overseas.
"It will have real consequences against her career. She won't be able to travel and she competes in this sport, and travel is very important to her, to get to Canada and those types of places."
Mr Mohamed said Mullany losing name suppression would not make much difference.
"The main thing is the conviction - once you have a conviction against your name, you can't travel and all that."
Mullany, who has spent much of this year working in the UK, had returned to New Zealand especially for the case to be re-heard.
She planned to return overseas, but if the appeal led to another re-hearing, then she would have to come back to New Zealand.
In his decision, Judge Adeane said Mullany had suffered enough from the storm of publicity after the case made national headlines.
Mullany was caught driving at twice the legal breath alcohol limit in November last year in Gisborne following an argument with her ex-fiance.
She admitted she had been "unlawful and stupid" but asked for a discharge without conviction because she was having a "bad time" after breaking up with her boyfriend and was "sad".
Ms Insley had successfully argued for leniency, saying it was rare for a Maori woman from a poor upbringing to excel in sport, and a conviction would ruin her chances to travel internationally and enhance her career.
But Judge Adeane said Mullany had been granted reprieves where others in a similar situation would not.
The High Court had directed that, if the reprieves were to be fairly given, independent affidavits would need to be supplied as evidence that a conviction would prevent Mullany from entering other countries for competitions or sport-related work.
Judge Adeane said despite that clear directive, there were still no such affidavits on Mullany's file, which was thick with other material pertaining to the twists and turns the case had since taken.
The case had grown a life of its own, while the simple facts of it had been lost, the judge said.
The absence of the relevant necessary documents was not surprising. It was unlikely any could be produced as the consequences of the offence simply were not as dire as anticipated, Judge Adeane said.
"Convictions for such first and second-time offences are not ruinous to people's careers. If that were so, the face of New Zealand society would be quite different with people from all walks of life and professions affected."
- By Matthew Backhouse of APNZ and the Gisborne Herald
