A JUDGE YOU CAN TRUST (!)

The former Supreme Court judge John Dowd has been lambasted by fellow judges for sitting on a case for 17 months and then delivering a judgement that was so bad it could not be allowed to stand. The NSW Court of Appeal yesterday said the delay was "inordinate" and even then "there was every indication it [the judgement] had been written in haste and under pressure". Mr Dowd, 63, who resigned in August shortly after qualifying for a lifetime pension, declined to comment yesterday. He is also a former attorney-general and state opposition leader.

However, David Rofe, SC, said that in 50 years at the bar he had "never been involved in a more unfair trial" and that Mr Dowd should be called to account. His clients - Peter Monie, his wife, Jennifer, and son, Samuel - sued the Commonwealth after a job seeker referred to them by the Commonwealth Employment Service shot Mr Monie on June 15, 1993. The man, Darren Winsor, was sentenced to 12 years' jail. He will be eligible for release at the end of this year. He had 43 earlier convictions for dishonesty, violence and other offences.

However, the then Justice Dowd rejected Mr Monie's personal injury claim and claims by his wife and son for nervous shock. There were 14 hearing days in Armidale and Sydney in June 2002 but it was not until December 2003 that judgement was delivered. Acting Justice David Hunt, with whom Justices John Bryson and Roger Giles agreed, said there had been "a substantial miscarriage of justice".

In December 2002 the Monies began expressing concern at the delay. From May they wrote twice to the Chief Judge in Common Law, James Wood, but seven promised days of judgement between July and October passed. A further appeal to the Chief Justice, Jim Spigelman, resulted in an assurance that November 26 would be the day. "I expect that on this occasion you will not be disappointed," the Chief Justice wrote in reply. The Monies were. It was only after another three missed dates that judgement was finally handed down on December 4, after being put back from 9.30am to 2pm and then 2.30pm.

Justice Hunt said the delay was "never satisfactorily explained" and "destructive to the quality of the judgement". "No confidence can be placed on the judge's findings of fact or rulings of law in relation to at least two principal ways in which the plaintiff's case on liability was put ... Many other findings by the judge have been demonstrated to have been insubstantially based in his judgement."

Mr Rofe said the Monies would now face a new trial at considerable cost. "I can think of nothing more distasteful to a client than nodding off. But what he [Mr Dowd] did was wrong. This judge was so bad he has to be asked to account for what he did." Mrs Monie said her husband was still suffering the after-effects of the shooting. She said the family was happy with the decision but declined to comment on Mr Dowd. "The judges have said their piece," she said.


(From here)


(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)