Well this is awkward…
A court transcript has emerged detailing the excruciatingly awkward moment a defendant appeared in front of a judge who he had referred to as a “cunt” on Facebook just days before.
New Zealand judge Allan Roberts (pictured above) revealed earlier in the year that he would be stepping down from the bench, having spent nearly 10 years as a judge, during which time he picked up a reputation for being ‘no-nonsense’. The story was covered in the local papers and on social media. In tribute, Taranaki Law Society president Rajan Rai was quoted as saying:
He was courteous to all those who appeared in his court, unless they were discourteous or were misleading the court, then look out!
Not everyone was sad to see the former criminal barrister go. Whilst logged in to his personal Facebook account (screenshot below), Troy LaRue — the genius from Taranaki — decided to pass comment on the story of Roberts’ impending retirement and referred to the senior judge as a “cunt” and a “saggy chin fuuuk”.
LaRue — who had an upcoming court appearance for “outstanding fines” — made it very clear he hoped Roberts was gone by Friday. Unfortunately for the plain-speaking LaRue, the judge was very much still there and, what’s more, assigned to hear a case in which he had a very particular interest…
A transcript of what followed at New Plymouth District Court that day has since appeared online thanks to New Zealand-based news site The Spinoff. Read the exchange in all its glorious awkwardness below.
