WORLD · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
New Zealand Appoints Two District Court Judges: Leighvi Maynard and Nicola Graham
WHY IT MATTERS
The appointments bring seasoned criminal law experts to the judiciary, strengthening the District Court’s capacity to handle complex cases and ensuring experienced oversight of criminal proceedings.
What happened
Attorney‑General Chris Bishop announced the appointment of Leighvi Maynard from Gisborne and Nicola Graham from Napier as District Court judges. Maynard, who began his career at Simpson Grierson and has worked in civil, employment, Māori land, family and criminal law, served as a Crown prosecutor and later as a senior criminal defence lawyer before co‑founding Rāwhiti Legal.
Graham, a former Crown prosecutor and sole practitioner, has led high‑profile criminal trials and served as a Youth Advocate.
Maynard will sit at the Napier District Court and be sworn in Gisborne on 21 November 2026, while Graham will serve at Hamilton and be sworn in on 14 December 2026.
PRIMARY SOURCES
District Court Judges Appointed
New Zealand Government Beehive · beehive.govt.nz · New Zealand Crown copyright; accurate reproduction/translation with attribution; third-party media excluded
CORRECTIONS & UPDATES
- Revision 1 · Initial ingestion · Oct 9, 2026, 1:30 AM
- Revision 2 · Source update detected · Oct 9, 2026, 1:30 AM