Gun Lobbyist Unfit to be a Lawyer - NZ Supreme Court Confirms Ruling

An appeal to the Supreme Court by gun lobbyist Richard Lincoln, who had hoped to specialise as a firearms legal specialist, against a decision ruling that he was unfit to be a barrister and solicitor has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court decision has ruled that Lincoln did not establish a point of principle in his application and order against him with a costs of $2500.

Lincoln had appealed a decision from the Court of Appeal, which had in turn dismissed a High Court decision from 2018.

Lincoln had spent seven years completing his law degree and professional exams and needed to establish that he was a fit and proper person for admission

He failed due to what was described as an “enduring frailty” of character partly illustrated by telling a police officer’s wife her husband was a “lowlife scumbag thug”.

NSA Setup

Lincoln had set up the National Shooters Association (NSA) in 2009 using the model of the National Rifle Association in the United States and has taken several firearms cases to court.

The Law Society opposed Lincoln’s application to become a barrister and solicitor after an incident in 2015 when Lincoln was stopped while transporting a rifle for repair.

After charges against him were dismissed in late 2017 Lincoln had taken steps against one of the police officers who had arrested him, posting Facebook messages calling him a dangerous criminal and providing the constable’s wife’s Facebook page.

He also sent a Facebook message to Manning’s wife that included the prediction her husband would probably serve time in a “nice cold prison cell” and asking: “How did you ever wind up marrying a lowlife scumbag thug?”