Our people

The Centre for Justice Innovation has three co-directors providing academic, judicial, and Māori leadership to guide its work.

Directors

Professor Yvette Tinsley is the academic co-director of the Centre, holding a position at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. As a criminal justice academic, Professor Tinsley has a special interest in legal policy reform, particularly in improving the experience for participants in the criminal process. Her work has resulted in extensive legal and policy change, particularly in the areas of jury trial practice and sexual violence pre-trial reforms.

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Judge John Walker is the judicial co-director for the Centre. Judge Walker was the Presiding Judge in the Youth Drug Court for the first three years of its operation, from 2002 to 2005. He served as the Principal Youth Court Judge of New Zealand from 2016 to 2022, and now has an Acting warrant as a District Court Judge. He has been involved in judicial education, developing Porirua District Court into a court connected with the community it serves, mainstreaming solution-focused court practice and the establishment of the Young Adult List.

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Everard Halbert (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Whiti) is the Māori co-director for the Centre. Everard is experienced in tikanga and mātauranga Māori. He has extensive experience working in the dispute resolution space in the private and public sectors, including mediation, restorative practice, and Te Pae Oranga (iwi justice panels).

Centre administrator

Caitlin Ashby is the administrator and research assistant for the Centre. Caitlin is a fourth year LLB(Hons)/BA student at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington. As a 2022-23 summer scholar, she conducted a literature review as part of the Remote Justice project.