By Angela Vanderwee
Retired District Court Judge Rosemary Riddell returned to Hamilton in May to launch a memoir of her time on the bench.
Judges, court staff and lawyers from around the Waikato came to congratulate her on the achievement, and to hear her reading from the book.
Hamilton law firm, Ellice Tanner Hart hosted the book launch of To Be Fair – Confessions of a District Court Judge on 14 May.
Host Angela Vanderwee and directors Paul Ellice, Rob Hart and Daniel Wein were delighted with the turnout. Riddell’s excerpts were both witty and poignant and made for an entertaining evening.
Rob Hart, Judge Riddell, Paul Ellice and Daniel Wein
Riddell sat as a judge in Hamilton so launching her book amongst her old friends and colleagues held special importance for her.
Her book is a collection of reminiscences about her time on the bench, both funny and sad. She says she wanted to show that judges are not high and mighty, but very human.
“It was also a good opportunity to describe what goes on in a court room for those who have never darkened its doors. People generally have opinions about sentencing and criminals. I hope that after reading this book, they might reconsider some views, or at least gain some knowledge about the judicial process.”
The idea of writing a book came out of the blue. “I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, having resigned as a judge and was wondering ‘who am I now apart from being a pensioner?’.”
Her husband Mike encouraged her to write so one day she wrote out chapter headings and then away she went. The memories spilled out faster than she could write them down and she found it quite therapeutic.
“I had loved the judging job and could see myself doing it into my seventies. But a combination of factors interceded. Mike has prostate cancer and there are various trips to oncology. My Mum came to live next door and it was important to spend time with her. And then finally, I found the travel to courts around the country from Central Otago to be too onerous. So the job had to go.”
She never contemplated writing such a book while she was a judge.
“I was never sitting on the bench thinking that all this was fodder for a book. That said, it really was a unique experience being a judge and a humbling one, constantly dealing with painful situations in people’s lives, particularly in the Family Court.”
Riddell says she hasn’t breached any confidences and that names and scenarios have been changed. The stories are also interspersed with her views on topics such as poverty, racism and domestic violence.
“I have of course ventured strong views on laws that I consider should be changed. Now I couldn’t have said that while a judge!”
Angela Vanderwee and Judge Riddell
Angela Vanderwee is an Associate at Ellice Tanner Hart Lawyers
