http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3219508a1860,00.html
Hilary Swank’s undeclared fruit case reaches court
17 March 2005
The case of the apple, the orange and the Hollywood movie star goes before a court on Friday.
Double Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank’s reasons for failing to declare an apple and an orange in her luggage to New Zealand biosecurity staff when she landed at Auckland International Airport on a flight from Los Angeles in January, will be considered behind closed doors in Manukau District Court by a Judge or Justice of the Peace on Friday.
Swank, who won her second Best Actress Oscar this month for her starring role in the Clint Eastwood-directed Million Dollar Baby, had the choice of paying the instant $200 fine then and there or writing a letter defending her actions.
She chose to write a letter and that has been filed in Manukau District Court along with a letter from biosecurity agency the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) outlining the case against her.
A decision will be made possibly tomorrow or within a couple of weeks.
“No lawyers for Ms Swank will be present and she’s not going to appear,” said MAF spokesman William Minchin.
He did not know what the 30-year-old Hollywood actress, who also won an Oscar for her transgender role in Boys Don’t Cry, was doing in New Zealand. It is understood the actress was not in transit when she visited.
“There is no reason MAF would know that, what we were concerned with was that she failed to declare an apple and an orange,” he said.
The story has been reported around the world, appearing in newspapers and on websites from Chicago to Melbourne.