Court

A Dunedin man who drove on the Southern Motorway the wrong way while drunk last year, and narrowly missed hitting another vehicle had a "staggering" list of previous driving convictions, Judge Paul

A rape complainant will be forced to give evidence twice after the trial of her alleged attacker was aborted because the judge went on an overseas holiday.

The 50-year-old woman took the witness stand in the Auckland District Court on Monday, for what was originally set down as a four-day trial.

A convicted paedophile released on Wednesday after 12 years in prison will be under close scrutiny from the probation service for a further eight and a-half years.

A Dunedin jury this week found a Balclutha baker guilty of dealing methadone and BZP.

The man who shot dead south Auckland liquor store owner Navtej Singh in a 2008 robbery did not realise the gun was loaded and did not mean to pull the trigger, his lawyer said today.

A man who killed two pigs penned on private property, gutted them, and took the carcasses, admitted stealing the animals.

Police have signalled more charges against a 22-year-old man following the violent death of Christchurch widow Gaynor Alice White last week.