District Court Judge appointed

Attorney-General Hon Chris Bishop has announced the appointment of Christopher Morris as a District Court Judge. Mr Morris is a sole practitioner in Auckland, having previously been a partner at Cook Morris Quinn between 2006 and 2024. The early part of his career was spent with Bell Gully Buddle Weir and Meredith Connell (both in Auckland) and as Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office in Wellington. His experience spans both criminal, regulatory and civil jurisdictions, and in the past several years he has acted in lengthy high-profile criminal and civil regulatory trials. Mr Morris has appeared many times in the Court of Appeal as crown counsel, defence counsel, and for civil appellants and respondents. He has also appeared in the Supreme Court and the Privy Council. Judge Morris will be based at the Auckland District Court and is due to be sworn in on 22 October 2026, in Auckland.