Some remarks on process ( nothing about guilt or innocence).
Well if the preliminary arguments have started, I’d think they’d be connected to the trial and are probably important in some way. This was pointed out by an early poster. So this description of delay doesn’t quite wash with me. Sounds a bit sensational.
True His Honour was a public defender once, meaning that he was amongst the very best and brightest defence barristers in nsw, but that mostly means he is a very clever person and there’s no way on earth this past position would influence his decision or disturb his reasoning. Everything would be fresh to him as it is to us. He just has to apply the law.
I understand it’s judge alone and there will be no jury. That is something that usually the defence has to consent to. That could be for many reasons, but it might not be unreasonable to guess ( just a guess) that the defence is looking to technical arguments that a judge might understand better than a jury. If that’s open to them, if that’s how they are thinking, all good. Plus sometimes jury’s are a bit off the rails (“ johs jury”) even if they are trying hard to do the right thing one way or the other.
Things that might encourage us to think a certain in the real world are sometimes not allowed in courts, because the law doesn’t allow certain types of evidence in. Things have to be relevant for example. Someone telling you something, just means they told you something, not that what they told you actually happened. There are some exceptions to this “ hearsay” rule. So it gets complex.
Now these rules apply to both sides, I think the prosecution can appeal judge alone on certain grounds. But they don’t seem to have. So they seem to have faith in him for fairness all around.
His Honour has an important job. He can’t consider emotions in the sense that some people would like jack to play and other people wouldn’t. That’s not the issue at all, that’s the last thing he’s interested in.
Hes going to consider the law and the evidence and be very careful with the process. If he errs, either side may be able to appeal.
So it’s a very difficult job. Big match for him!
And he wouldn’t care less what the media think. He’s a judge, not a pollie.
But it’s a case that’s needs a very straight decent person to bust the decision. I think he’s a good draw for justice.
