To be fair : confessions of a District Court judge / Rosemary Riddell.

Cover -- Half-title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Dedication -- Preface -- 1 Mental health -- 2 Judicial camaraderie -- 3 Sentencing -- 4 The custody tussle -- 5 What's yours is mine -- 6 The eye is on you -- 7 How it began -- 8 The media: social and antisocial -- 9 The dark side -- 10 The unexpected -- 11 On circuit -- 12 'Line 'em up and shoot 'em' -- 13 Judged by your peers -- 14 Court etiquette -- 15 'So, what do you do for a living?' -- 16 The poverty trap -- 17 'I've never been here before' -- 18 In their ivory towers -- 19 My learned friend -- 20 Writing decisions 21 Justice must be seen to be done -- 22 It's all Parliament's fault -- 23 The vexatious litigant -- 24 Community involvement -- 25 Stress -- 26 Racism -- 27 Witness reliability -- 28 Is it hard to decide? -- 29 Where there's a will -- 30 Judicial independence -- 31 A matter of substance -- 32 So you want to become a judge? -- 33 The after life -- Notes -- Acknowledgements -- About the author.

Retired judge Rosemary Riddell shares her reminiscences of life on the bench, complete with its humour, frustrations and poignant moments. A unique glimpse into a world most of us can only imagine, her story is a fascinating commentary on New Zealand life from the point of view of a woman involved in the top levels of our justice system.