Greg King (lawyer)

Gregory James King (17 September 1969^[1] – 2 or 3 November 2012)^[2] was a New Zealand criminal defence lawyer. Of Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent, he grew up in Turangi.^[3] He was counsel in more than 40 murder cases including some of New Zealand's most high-profile murder trials, which in his suicide note he said left him "exhausted, unwell, disillusioned, depressed and haunted".^{[citation needed]}

Biography

King was born in Whanganui and raised in Turangi, where his father was a prison officer. He was head boy at Tongariro High School in 1987.^[4]

In 1999 King was counsel in R v Rongonui [2000] 2 NZLR 385, which altered the landscape of the partial defence of provocation.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, in conjunction with trial lawyer Mike Antunovic, King unsuccessfully took the Scott Watson case to the Privy Council in London seeking leave to appeal his convictions for double murder.^[5] He took the John Barlow double murder conviction to the Privy Council in 2009, but was similarly unsuccessful.^[6]

King was named Barrister of the Year in 2007.^{[citation needed]} In 2009 King assisted Judith Ablett-Kerr in the defence of Clayton Weatherston for the murder of Sophie Elliott.^[7] In 2012, King successfully defended Ewen MacDonald on the charge of murdering his brother-in-law Scott Guy.^[1] This was a long arduous case which generated huge public interest. Two weeks later he was back at work defending a man manslaughter charges in Palmerston North.^[8] At his funeral, speakers commented that he worked long hours and rarely took time off. Sir Bob Jones said he was career-driven, would never say no to a case and was "incredibly generous".^[9]

On the morning of 3 November 2012, King was found dead beside his car in Newlands, Wellington. His death was referred to the coroner^[2] as a suspected suicide.^[10] King had diabetes. Sir Bob Jones who was friends with King said he had received news of a "fresh problem" concerning his illness the week before he died.^{[citation needed]}

Law Society president Jonathan Temm said: "Throughout his career he represented clients who were often unpopular and he did that with real ability and determination." Labour leader David Shearer said: "Greg had one of this country's finest legal brains. There wouldn't be many New Zealanders who hadn't heard of him.^[11]

The findings of the coroner were released in October 2013, in which it was confirmed King's death was a suicide. Details of King's suicide note were also released - in it he described being "exhausted, unwell, disillusioned, depressed and haunted" from taking on so many murder defence cases, and was "totally burnt out".^[12]

The Court report

King was host and executive producer of The Court Report, a weekly television programme which focused on contemporary legal issues. The programme aired on TVNZ 7 before it closed in 2012.^[3] The show was either a panel discussion or interview, hosted by King with leading legal experts and commentators. The goal of the show was always to "go behind the headlines of the legal news stories of the day, to inform and educate, as well as entertain the profession and the public at large". King hosted 68 episodes and retired at the end of 2011. He continued on as an Executive Producer. After his departure, the show was hosted by Linda Clark who used to work as a journalist before becoming a lawyer.^[13]

References