SLEEPING JUDGE OK

Judge Ian Dodd slept and snored through the evidence of an alleged rape victim in the fourth and most shocking case of his appalling performance on the bench. And while the judge has admitted to being asleep - and the Judicial Commission has upheld the woman's complaint - no action will be taken to discipline him. The judge has not even apologised directly to the woman, who was giving evidence about alleged sex attacks which began when she was just six years old. Instead, he sent a half-hearted letter to the Judicial Commission, which was passed on to the woman.

Documents show Judge Dodd snored out loud as he slept for 15 minutes at a time, causing laughter and comments from the jury. Not only did the victim leave the stand "destroyed and humiliated", she also feared the judge's behaviour may have influenced the jury's verdict after the defendant was found not guilty. The accused rapist was later convicted to 12 years' jail for a sexual assault on another person, in a hearing before a different judge.

The case is the latest in a series in which the sleeping judge has been accused of failing to administer justice in the manner demanded by the public from its highest judicial officials. Even before the complaints began to roll in, Judge Dodd was notorious on the court circuit for his propensity to snooze on the bench. In his letter to the Judicial Commission Judge Dodd, 56, acknowledged the woman was "subjected to the effects" of an untreated condition known as sleep apnoea. He wrote: "The complainant feels that I did not treat her humanely and with courtesy and respect, and that I was gruff and arrogant. "I apologise for any behaviour which has caused her to feel that way."

But while the commission has found that Judge Dodd "fell asleep momentarily on occasions during the trial", it ruled he was fit to remain on the bench. It said "the transcript and sound recording do not disclose any examples of non-responsiveness" and that it had not affected "his understanding of what was going on".

The woman, now aged 30, complained to the commission about the trial in November 2003. She wrote: "Whilst giving an account of some of the more painful and distressing events, I detected and became aware of the sound of snoring. "I wondered about the impact of Dodd's conduct on the jury who would look to him ... to set an example." The woman, a fitness industry worker from Sydney's south, has lobbied Premier Bob Carr calling for Judge Dodd to face "serious disciplinary action". She also contacted Attorney-General Bob Debus, who outlined his intention to pursue "a number of unresolved issues with the commission". He invited the woman to meet him next month to discuss her complaint.

The woman told The Daily Telegraph yesterday she felt the judge missed crucial details of her testimony which could have affected his summing up. "It was like a circus. I felt like pure entertainment because he was sleeping constantly," she said. "You could actually hear him snoring - he'd sleep for 15 minutes and wake up in a panic.

The Judicial Commission has received at least four complaints relating to Judge Dodd's drowsiness. Among them is the defendant in a corporate fraud trial, Jim Kearns, who is appealing his conviction. But similar avenues are not open to complainants. The Attorney-General refused to comment further and the Chief Justice's office complained about being contacted on a public holiday. Judge Dodd could not be contacted.

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