- Hon Judith Collins KC
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Auckland Barrister and Solicitor Brett Donald Tantrum as a High Court Judge.
Justice Tantrum graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 2000, and joined Bell Gully's commercial litigation team as a solicitor.
In August 2002, he joined Auckland Crown Solicitor's office Meredith Connell as a solicitor. He joined the partnership in 2011 and has been a Principal Crown Prosecutor since 2017.
In 2006, Justice Tantrum participated in a professional exchange programme with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Sydney. He was admitted to the bar in New South Wales and prosecuted cases involving sexual violation, fraud, serious violence and drug-related offences.
For a period in 2009-2010, Justice Tantrum was seconded to Crown Law, appearing for the Crown in a range of criminal appeals.
His areas of expertise include criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal, as well as prosecuting cases involving homicide, organised crime-particularly commercial drug offending and money laundering-and serious sexual violence. He has also practised in public and administrative law, including judicial review proceedings and regulatory matters. He is a member of the Serious Fraud Office's prosecutors' panel.
Justice Tantrum's appointment as a High Court Judge will take effect on 30 March 2026, and he will sit in Auckland.
