Improving public understanding of the judge's role in sentencing was the subject of a talk to the Otago Women Lawyers' Society yesterday.
In the New Zealand Law Federation Ethel Benjamin commemorative address, Court of Appeal judge Justice Christine French discussed the need for the public to become more educated about sentencing so they could more clearly understand judges' decisions.
Justice French made headlines in August when she was on the first all-female Court of Appeal bench in the court's 153-year history.
Justice French talked about the history of sentencing in New Zealand, whether sentences should be responsive to public opinion and if, in sentencing, judges had an image problem.
Sentencing was the most visible aspect of a judge's job and the part which attracted the most public criticism, she said.
The public argued for judges to be more accountable and transparent and routinely called for judges to administer stricter sentences.
However, High Court decisions were transparent, uploaded online, released in press conferences and there was even a Twitter account, Justice French said.
A problem lay in the general public not having a good understanding of the legal process.
Surveys had found a greater understanding of the sentencing process led to people wanting less severe punishments, she said.
There was ''more work to be done'' increasing people's knowledge of the legal process, Justice French said.
''Public opinion should be well informed.''
It was the 19th annual Ethel Benjamin address, which honours New Zealand's first female lawyer. Ethel Benjamin had to be courageous and strong to overcome the obstacles that stood in her way, Justice French said.
''I have had a rather easy time and that is because of the real trailblazers.''
- James Hall
