33 Jonathan Eaton QC

Long-time leading Barrister Jonathan Eaton has handled two high profile criminal cases during 2019 and continues to hold a leading position at both the criminal bar and within legal circles generally.

Handling the Supreme Court appeal for Mark Lundy, where he criticised the DNA evidence used to convict his client as “novel and junk science”, he was also in the news with his defence of former Dunedin doctor Venod Skantha found guilty of stabbing a teenage girl to death.

He also regularly prosecutes for various arms of government and acts in professional disciplinary hearings, as well as playing a central role in Bar Association and law society matters.

He recently defended a drug addict who murdered an 87 year old man for money and achieved national prominence with his defence of former Christian Heritage political leader Graham Capill when his client was punched by a bystander leading to the fighting-fit QC tackling the offender without a care for his pinstripes.