In court, male lawyer turns up as woman

WELLINGTON: A bald, mustachioed lawyer turned up at court wearing a skirt and blouse and toting a purse to protest a lack of care and sensitivity among New Zealand's male-dominated judiciary, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Rob Moodie, 67, a former rugby player, pipe smoker and secretary of the police union, arrived at Wellington's High Court on Monday in a navy blue woman's suit complete with diamond brooch and lace-topped stockings over his hairy legs, The Dominion Post reported. ``I will now, as a lawyer, be wearing women's clothing,'' Moodie was quoted as saying. He said he wants the court to address him as ``Ms. Alice'' and that his wife and three children support his protest. His attire, he insisted, is to highlight the insensitive ``old boys' network'' of New Zealand's judiciary. ``My confidence in the male ethos is zilch. It's a culture of intimidation, authority, power and control,'' the high-profile lawyer said. Although he is heterosexual, he was born with an innate understanding of the female gender, Moodie said. ``I prefer and relate to the gender which is involved in the creation and nurturing of life: giving, sharing and also, I believe, fairness,'' he told the newspaper. Calls to Moodie's family home in the town of Feilding, about 165 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital, Wellington, rang unanswered Tuesday. His protest was prompted by frustration over a long-running case involving a farming couple held responsible for a bridge built by the army on their land that collapsed, killing a beekeeper. He told The Dominion Post that the ``last straw'' was last month's Court of Appeal ruling that ordered the couple who have already sold their farm to fund their legal efforts to pay the army 10,000 New Zealand dollars (US$6,200; euro4,900) in costs. On a practical note, Moodie said he was unsure which toilet he would be allowed to use at the court house. ``I call it a flash of lace at the urinal,'' he told the newspaper.

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