Chief Justice Carmody Removes Himself from Child Murder Appeal
Friday 8 May 2015 @ 10.19 a.m. | Legal Research
Queensland Chief Justice Tim Carmody has recused himself from the appeal by Brett Peter Cowan to the murder of Daniel Morcombe. The judge removed himself from the appeal after accusations were mounted at him challenging his impartiality in the matter given his meeting lobby group Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston. Justice Carmody described the whole affair as a “bizarre sideshow” prior to removing himself.
Background
Lawyers for Brett Peter Cowan were preparing an application to have the Chief Justice disqualified from his hearing of the appeal citing perception of bias. Justice Carmody had earlier met with Ms Johnston to discuss “an information solution system for reducing administrative expenses and burdens associated with child protection matters.
”More information pertaining to the meeting was refused when demanded. The Chief Justice insisted that meeting with community leaders was a standard procedure “even if they possess a general intellectual or emotional interest in a matter before the court, or its outcome.”
Ms Johnston’s Bravehearts organisation was a lobby group that had actively targeted Brett Peter Cowan in the past. Ms Johnston had also vocalised her opinion that Cowan should never be released from prison. However, Chief Justice Carmody insisted that "Ms Johnston and I do not have a relevant, close and continuing relationship that would impact on the impartiality of my decisions or processes."
Stepping Down
The appeal was heard almost six months ago and it has since been revealed that Chief Justice Carmody is the only justice of the three presiding justices yet to have finished his written decision. The other justices had expressed their ‘grave concerns’ about the Chief Justice’s meeting with the outspoken child victims advocate.
The Chief Justice has decided that it was “in the best interests of this court and overall public confidence in the administration of justice that I withdraw instead of prolonging this bizarre sideshow”. For the “absurd and extraordinary” bid to exclude him to continue would be “an exorbitant waste of public time and money” benefiting only the lawyers involved, Carmody said. He further added:
“As head of jurisdiction, I must take steps – which sometimes seem extraordinary and, in this case, regrettable in the extreme – to preserve public confidence in the administration of justice and the institutional integrity of the system,”
Cowan’s Lawyers
Cowan’s lawyers said that the team only acted in response to the urging of other members of the bench. Solicitor Tim Meehan explained that the matter was first raised by the bench and so the team could not be criticised for exploiting the justice system. He explained:
“Justice needs to be done according to law, it’s as simple as that. All we want for our client is that his matters be dealt with in the correct way and in the way everyone else is entitled to have their matters dealt with.”
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