A PROSECUTOR WHO CAUSES HAVOC THROUGH A LACK JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENT AND BALANCED JUDGMENT

What the article below discreetly fails to mention is that Queensland's present Director of Public Prosecutions is an affirmative action appointee -- a lady known as Leanne Clare. There is a picture of her with a smile here

Queensland's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has come under fire again, this time for taking a minor assault charge against a high-profile Sunshine Coast solicitor to trial through the District Court. Former Maroochydore lawyer Garry Wayne Scott, 35, who now practises in the Solomon Islands, was acquitted on the charge of common assault involving a female employee following a three-day trial which ended yesterday. The jury took under an hour to reach its not guilty verdict, prompting Maroochydore District Court Judge John Robertson to comment that the case should never have been before a high court. "It has cost $12,000 over three days to run the court and the matter should never have been here," the judge said. "Other more serious cases have backed up because of that."

Mr Scott was charged with assaulting a former part-time employee in a law firm called Klooger Phillips Scott which he ran in partnership with Robert Phillips at Maroochydore in 2003. Mr Scott was charged with grabbing employee Linda Whitmore during a struggle for a computer mouse, leaving a red mark on her arm. How tragic, how awful!. Mr Scott maintained he had never assaulted Ms Whitmore and he had simply tried to stop her accessing the firm's main accounts computer after he had told her not to.

Outside court, Mr Scott said he was very relieved at his acquittal "but it was a terrible misuse of the justice system and the judge recognised that as well". Mr Scott said the whole issue had done "terrible damage" to his reputation and affected his business. "It should never have been brought in the first place," he said. "It (the computer) was my property and I was entitled to protect my property. It should have been sorted out . . . what a waste of taxpayers' money."

Crown prosecutor Craig Choudhury said in court that he agreed "wholeheartedly" with Judge Robertson's remarks, but that the decision to proceed was made by the DPP.

Mr Scott's defence barrister, Steve Courtney, said that overtures had been made (to have the case thrown out) but these had been rejected by the DPP. The DPP has also recently come under fire over its actions in high-profile cases involving former chief magistrate Di Fingleton, former One Nation founder Pauline Hanson and swimming coach Scott Volkers.

More here



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