A former district court judge thanked his lawyer after hearing a fellow judge dismiss a criminal charge against him in court today.
"I feel very relieved," said Michael Lance, 73, after a criminal charge of intentional damaging a Volkswagen Golf car was thrown out by a visiting judge who found the evidence of the police's main witness changed during the trial.
Mr Lance had been on trial in a judge-alone hearing in North Shore District Court for the last two days after the police alleged he used car keys to put 20 scratches on the car which was blocking the entrance to his apartment building in Browns Bay on Auckland's North Shore in March last year.
He was tried before Invercargill judge Kevin Phillips in the same court he presided over until he retired last year. Judge Phillips was brought from Invercargill because he did not know Mr Lance.
Today Judge Phillips said the evidence of the police's main witness, David Burns, was inconsistent and changed considerably during the two-day hearing.
He said at times Mr Burns "was somewhat confused" in his evidence.
Mr Burns had told the court he was having lunch at a nearby restaurant with his family and he saw Mr Lance hold keys in his hand and scratch the car.
However, Judge Phillips found Mr Burns was not sitting where he claimed to have been sitting and would have to have looked over his shoulder to see Mr Lance at the car instead of having a clear view.
"It was not the type of evidence that I could find Mr Lance guilty of this charge on."
However, he also said "an honestly mistaken witness can give convincing evidence".
He said while Mr Burns said he saw Mr Lance key the car, his wife, Anna Burns, gave evidence that she saw Mr Lance lick his thumb and run it along the car. She said he had something in his clenched hand but she did not see it.
As Mr Lance sat behind his lawyer, John Haigh QC, he heard Judge Phillips issue a ruling which Mr Haigh later said lifted a heavy weight which had been on Mr Lance's shoulders for a year.
"The charge is dismissed," Judge Phillips said.
Moments earlier Judge Phillips said there might be suspicion but there was no proof and no evidence of how the scratches were made on the car although he ruled they were not there when the car was first parked over the entrance to the apartment block.
As he left the court Mr Lance told NZPA: "I feel very relieved and am grateful for my counsel."
Outside court Mr Haigh said the police needed to carefully examine the legal advice they had been given before they decided to take the matter to the court.
"It is of great relief after a year almost to the day that this cloud hanging over him, unjustifiably in my view, has been removed.
"That's the good news. The bad news is that it has taken a year to do and has caused much grief to Mr Lance."
Mr Haigh said the matter should never have reached court but that would be reviewed when he sought a court order for costs.
The police refused to comment.
Had Mr Lance been convicted he could have faced a sentence of up to three months in prison or a fine of up to $2000. He left the court in a Volkswagen car similar to the car he was accused of damaging.
