David Gary Johnstone appointed as judge of High Court

Justice Johnstone will take up his appointment on 22 February 2023, sitting in Auckland.

Auckland barrister David Gary Johnstone has been appointed a judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today.

Justice Johnstone graduated from the University of Auckland in 1991 with a BCom/LLB(Hons), and joined Bell Gully as a solicitor, practising in general commercial litigation. During 1993 and 1994 he studied at the University of Cambridge, graduating LLM(Hons) in 1994. He left Bell Gully in 1996.

In 1998 Justice Johnstone took up a role as a solicitor with the Auckland Crown Solicitor’s firm, Meredith Connell, conducting District Court and then High Court jury trials and regulatory prosecutions, and civil proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1991. He joined the Meredith Connell partnership in 2005. His main focus has been upon criminal prosecutions and appeals at all levels in the criminal justice arena, with a particular speciality in cases involving organised crime, corruption, serious fraud and national security.

In early 2022, Justice Johnstone left Meredith Connell to join the independent Bar. As a barrister, he specialised in criminal law and commercial compliance, investigations and proceedings. Since 2014, he has been a member of the Serious Fraud Office’s prosecutors' panel.

Justice Johnstone will take up his appointment on 22 February 2023, sitting in Auckland.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)