High profile lawyer Chris Comeskey says he will defy an order
to give evidence against a man accused of the Waiouru Army
Museum war medal burglary.
Mr Comeskey, who helped return the stolen medals, has been
summonsed to give evidence for the prosecution at preliminary
hearing of the case in Wanganui District Court.
But he has sworn he will stay silent, claiming lawyer-client
confidentiality, The Herald on Sunday reported.
The ruling by Judge Paul Barber comes on top of a recent
decision by the Court of Appeal to refuse to withdraw
criticism of Mr Comeskey of his defence of a drug dealer.
A total of 96 medals, including nine Victoria Crosses, were
stolen from the museum in December 2007. They were later
returned in a deal brokered by Mr Comeskey, involving
payments from a $300,000 reward pool.
A man was jailed for 11 years last month for his role in the
theft.
A second man, charged in connection with the burglary, is
facing a depositions hearing in Wanganui District Court.
Extensive suppression orders surround the case, including the
identities of the two men.
However, Judge Barber gave The Herald permission to report
that three lawyers - including Mr Comeskey - were required to
give evidence in a preliminary depositions hearing of
prosecution evidence.
Mr Comeskey, who had previously said he would rather be
locked in jail than testify, told the newspaper: "I'm not
giving evidence. We're just being pursued by vigilantes in
suits." He said he would seek to overturn Judge Barber's
ruling and believed he had support from the New Zealand Law
Society.
"Judges have become bureaucrats. They're only interested in
streamlining the government resource and in doing so they
forget that crucial function in delivering justice."
