Right to Silence

Marie is a Queen’s Counsel specialising in Criminal Law. In 2014, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Marie appears regularly at the District Court, High Court and Court of Appeal in New Zealand. She also appears with clients before the Parole Board. Marie has engaged in mentoring newly admitted Barristers for the last 35 years and regularly presents papers and appears as a panel member in legal seminars, advocacy training workshops and is invited to partake in discussion groups with related government organisations. Marie has had a number of legal professional positions, including President of the New Zealand Criminal Bar Association and Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA), the world’s largest organisation of Law Societies, Bar Associations and individual lawyers. The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world. She is the first woman to take on the role of Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the IBA. In this role Marie has the opportunity to be involved in key legal international issues and to bring them to the New Zealand legal system. She is also a Senior Magistrate of the Pitcairn Magistrate’s Court and is currently President of the ADLS and convenor of its Criminal Law Committee since 2014.

Jo is Special Counsel at Meredith Connell specialising in Crown prosecution trial work. After graduating with MA (Latin) LLB(Hons) at Otago University, she was clerk to the then Chief Justice of New Zealand the Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias from 2004 to 2005. Since 2006 Jo has prosecuted all manner of criminal offences in the Youth Court, District Court and High Court, starting at the Wellington Crown Solicitor’s Office in 2006 until 2011. In 2008 she was awarded the Pegasus Scholarship and travelled to London, Edinburgh and Belfast to observe criminal trials. Jo was seconded in 2008-2009 to work with the Solicitor-General at the Crown Law Office, and appeared on landmark criminal appeals such as R v AM in the Court of Appeal (guideline sentencing decision on sexual violation offences), and R v Morgan (hostile witnesses), R v Hessell (reduction for guilty plea) in the Supreme Court. She also wrote the Crown Solicitor Network’s submissions in response to the Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill, the forerunner to the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. Jo left the Crown in 2011 to work at the Wellington Public Defence Service, representing clients on serious offending, with a particular interest in mentally impaired defendants. After a secondment to Manukau in 2013, she reverted back to the Crown in 2014, joining Meredith Connell that year, becoming partner in 2017, and Special Counsel in 2020. Jo has been a Faculty Member at the NZLS CLE Litigation Skills course, overseen the Sexual Violence Pilot Court for the Crown since its inception until 2019, presented many times to stakeholders, and most recently presented on Communication Assistance CLE with His Honour Judge Collins, David Niven, and professionals in the field for the ADLS. She enjoys giving back to the profession by teaching at both Auckland and Otago Law Schools.