Robert Graeme Ronayne (1955 – 7 January 2020) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as a District Court judge from 2013 until his death in 2020. Born in 1955, Ronayne studied law at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, and was called to the bar in 1978. After practising briefly in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, he moved to

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompa ...

in 1979, where he worked as a litigator at East Brewster. In 1998, Ronayne became a Crown prosecutor and founding partner in the

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

firm of Ronayne Hollister-Jones Lellman, and he was appointed to the bench of the District Court, based in Auckland, in 2013. From 2016, he worked on a pilot at the Auckland District Court to improve the management of serious sexual violence cases, and he was focused on ensuring that vulnerable witnesses were properly supported during the court process. While Ronayne has been lauded publicly by many, he was considered by some on the defence bar as short tempered, biased and unlikely to give quarter to even a sympathetic defendant. Ronayne died in his home in the Auckland suburb of

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

on 7 January 2020.

References

1955 births 2020 deaths University of Canterbury alumni 20th-century New Zealand lawyers District Court of New Zealand judges 21st-century New Zealand judges {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub