Courts

The top judge in NSW has called for more court resources and funding to ease the burden of an overworked judiciary, in an impassioned speech backed by the state’s solicitors and barristers.

The latest judge to join the NSW Supreme Court has expressed a desire to foster a serious but collegiate environment for advocates and has remarked on the rising importance of legal directories for barristers. 

Hackers behind a cyberattack on Victoria’s court system may have accessed recordings of hearings stretching back to 2016, Court Services Victoria has said. On January 2, CSV CEO Louise Anderson notified the public that hackers had breached a network with video and audio recordings of courts across Victoria, saying recordings of hearings that took place…

Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings. 

A judge has refused a bid by the ACT Police Chief to intervene on behalf of the AFP in Shane Drumgold SC legal challenge to the findings of an inquiry into the prosecution of Brittany Higgins’ assault claims against Bruce Lehrmann, but has allowed six police officers to be joined to defend the findings.

The peak body for Australian judges has condemned an inquiry into a Supreme Court Justice reportedly charged with assault, saying that it will have sweeping powers that interfere with the judiciary’s independence and violate “basic notions of fairness”.

The Council for the Law Society of NSW can seek disciplinary findings against a solicitor who was previously banned over social media posts encouraging people to flout COVID-19 mandates and representing that a judge condoned rape and murder.

In a rare public statement, the NSW Supreme Court has sought to correct what it says are inaccuracies in comments by the state industrial relations minister contrasting it unfavourably with a proposed new court dedicated to workplace disputes.

A retiring Federal Court judge who served on the bench for almost two decades has railed against court fees “that no ordinary person can afford” and overly complex legislation, including the Corporations Act, which he called a “blight on our community”.

The state of Queensland has urged the High Court to step in after a Federal Circuit and Family Court judge was held personally liable for a man’s false imprisonment.