In NSW judges can only be removed by Parliament, but can they now be also removed by a COVID public health order: Berejiklian & AG Speakman's vaccine passport has the potential to prevent judges from hearing cases (if the rules that apply to tradies also apply to judges)

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The following is a summary of the position of judges in NSW: 

In New South Wales, section 53 of the Constitution Act 1902 (NSW) provides that a judge can only be removed from office by the Governor on an address from both Houses of Parliament, seeking removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. In addition, a judge can only be removed if the Conduct Division of the Judicial Commission has made a report to the Governor setting out its opinion that the matters referred to in the report could justify parliamentary consideration of removal of the judge (Judicial Officers Act 1986 (NSW), section 40 ).

The decision of the District Court NSW to require jurors to be vaccinated has, in effect put NSW COVID Public Health Orders above the relevant law, in this case the laws that require anyone summoned to report for jury duty. 

The AG NSW Mark Speakman has refused to address the matter, choosing yet again to be silent on anything that can cause him discomfort,.  Speakman has however been quite vocal about the need for tradies to be vaccinated, despite the weight of scientific evidence against his assertion that vaccines will prevent transmission of the COVID Virus. 

That silence does not, unfortunately, solve anything but in fact leads to further more complicated questions, such as these:

If tradies should be vaccinated for the public good, why not judges, and if judges are not vaccinated, should they not be barred from being in a courtroom to hear cases?  Should they not then be removed? 

TO BE READ WITH 

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Jurors in NSW must be vaccinated, AG Speakman says if you receive a jury summons answer it vaccinated or not, but Speakman dare not say that the non-vaccinated are likely to be denied entry to court: Premier in waiting is a politician first, lawyer second, and it is confusing him

 by Ganesh Sahathevan

The much awaited information on whether NSW will require jurors to be vaccinated has been answered, in a manner of speaking, by  Attorney General Mark Speakman SC in this tweet: 

                       

The relevant part from the document tweeted, a directive          from the Chief Judge, NSW Supreme Court, states: 

                               

Note that Speakman's post does not say anything about the fate that awaits those who are called for jury duty but are not vaccinated.

Given the Chief Judge's directive non-vaccinated persons are likely

to be turned away at the doors.The consequences of then not answering a jury summons have been left unsaid. 

Speakman is considered a potential replacement for Gladys Berejiklian as premeir of NSW, and it is clear that he has (again) let his politics interfere with his duties as the state's most senior law officer.

TO BE READ WITH 

Will NSW judges be forced to get jabbed, and will it be a case of no jab, no jury duty ? AG NSW Mark Speakman remains silent about his own portfolio, while threatening everyone else with loss of income if they are not vaccinated.

by Ganesh Sahathevan


The Attorney General NSW, Mark Speakman SC has still not said if jurors will be excluded from even presenting for jury duty if they are not vaccinated. Given vaccination passport rules that are to be introduced in NSW, no one but the vaccinated will have rights to "freedoms" defined and enforced by the state.

This raises interesting legal questions for, among others, those who are ordered to present themselves for jury duty. It also raises the question of whether judges, clerks, barristers and solicitors would be denied entry to courtrooms of they do not have the necessary vaccine passport.

Court rooms in NSW are often in buildings which are enclosed,  have poor air circulation, and thus high risk with regards COVID contagion.  

As reported below, Speakman has been happy to require tradesmen who work outdoors to be vaccinated if they want to work. His silence with regards workers and others under his own portfolio is not what one expects of the state's most senior legal officer.

TO BE READ WITH 





Thursday, August 19, 2021

Will NSW AG Mark "Double Vaxxed" Speakman SC require jurors to be vaccinated; and what about judges, barristers, solicitors?



by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Attorney General Of NSW, Mark Speakman SC, who has changed his Twitter handle to "Mark Speakman Double Vaxxed" tweeted in support of tradies and construction workers being forced to be vaccinated if they wanted to work:






In doing so Speakman completely disregarded the not so small matter of informed consent, and the fact that anyone who is vaccinated in Australia must first sign a Commonwealth Vaccination Consent form.

Mr Speakman is himself the minister in charge of a collection of very large workspaces. Those workspaces are of course the court rooms of NSW which unlike construction sites, are usually enclosed. Being enclosed the probability of COVID transmission is much greater and therefore justification for a "no-jab no entry" policy for courtrooms is even greater.

It is left to be seen whether Speakman is going to insist that NSW's judges, barristers and solicitors be vaccinated if they want to attend to matters in court.

Then there is the problem of jurors.Jury duty is compulsory but how is an unvaccinated person going to present himself or herself in court when summoned, if a "no-jab no entry" policy is enforced in NSW courtrooms? And if courtrooms are to be exempted, then why not construction sites where the risk of COVID contagion is far less?




END
















- August 19, 2021