A retired Supreme Court judge pleaded guilty to drink driving after being involved in a three car pile-up in Sydney, but decided not to interrupt his holiday to attend his court date.

Justice Roderick Howie was breathalysed after the car accident, which happened at 9:30 am. Despite the early hour he managed to return a blood alcohol reading of 0.121 (more than twice the legal limit for New South Wales). That puts Howie in the mid-range drink driving category, according to a report in the Australian. Which seems to have convinced him that there was no need to interrupt his Japanese sake sculling competition holiday to attend court.

Instead he sent a note to the court via his lawyer confessing his guilt - claiming that he had consumed a bottle of red wine the night before the incident - and acknowledging that he expected to lose his licence and be fined. But rather than placating the magistrate with his generous admissions, he seems instead to have rather rattled his cage.

An angry magistrate yesterday

The magistrate said that Howie appeared to have a "misapprehension" of the court's powers. In particular it's power to send him to jail. And the old boys' network seems to have let Howie down, with the magistrate expressing his disgust at the judge's no-show. "Whoever the offender might be, it's a matter where I expect the man to be before the court".

The fact that Howie has a certain amount of form for driving offences may have encouraged the magistrate's tough stance. Since 1992 the judge has managed to collect seven speeding fines.

Howie will be sentenced in September.