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www.smh.com.auHome » National » Article
Magistrate steps aside for counselling
Email Print Normal font Large font By Michael Pelly Legal Reporter
March 24, 2006
A FEDERAL magistrate has temporarily stepped down after large slabs of a colleague's judgement were included without attribution in a decision that took more than three years to deliver.
Jennifer Rimmer also failed to inform the parties she later altered her judgement, but agreed to take two months' leave on Wednesday, during which she will undergo counselling.
Her fellow magistrates blew the whistle on the 44-year-old, who was appointed from the Family Court registry in November 2001. Within months she was complaining about the workload and requesting more resources.
The Chief Federal Magistrate, John Pascoe, said the court's Internal Judgment Committee told him last May that Ms Rimmer's decision in a sexual harassment case involving a Brisbane hotel had lifted key parts of a judgement by a Melbourne magistrate, John Walters.
The case was heard on November 2001, but Ms Rimmer did not hand down her decision until April 1 last year.
After repeated requests from Mr Pascoe, she altered her judgement to contain proper attribution but failed to alert the parties - a remarkable lapse for a judicial officer and a fact of which Mr Pascoe says he became aware only two weeks ago.
Mr Pascoe said she had "agreed to take leave so that she may be provided with additional training, counselling and appropriate mentoring over the next two months before returning to sitting duty". He said she would be confined to family law cases, as she has been for the past six months. "The use of material without attribution … is simply unacceptable in all areas of professional life."
The Chief Magistrate said the question of a judge's removal was for Parliament, but the case is sure to provoke debate on whether there should be a federal judicial commission to handle complaints and a more consultative appointments process.
Mr Pascoe, a former head of the law firm Phillips Fox, said when he came to the job in July 2004 there was a "significant backlog" of judgements. Most are now handed down within three months and Mr Pascoe said he had confidence in the "vast majority" of his magistrates.
Mr Pascoe said "much has been asked" of the court since its inception in 2001 and that he had asked the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, to bring forward appointments and provide more administrative support.
www.smh.com.auHome » National » Article
Magistrate steps aside for counselling
Email Print Normal font Large font By Michael Pelly Legal Reporter
March 24, 2006
A FEDERAL magistrate has temporarily stepped down after large slabs of a colleague's judgement were included without attribution in a decision that took more than three years to deliver.
Jennifer Rimmer also failed to inform the parties she later altered her judgement, but agreed to take two months' leave on Wednesday, during which she will undergo counselling.
Her fellow magistrates blew the whistle on the 44-year-old, who was appointed from the Family Court registry in November 2001. Within months she was complaining about the workload and requesting more resources.
The Chief Federal Magistrate, John Pascoe, said the court's Internal Judgment Committee told him last May that Ms Rimmer's decision in a sexual harassment case involving a Brisbane hotel had lifted key parts of a judgement by a Melbourne magistrate, John Walters.
The case was heard on November 2001, but Ms Rimmer did not hand down her decision until April 1 last year.
After repeated requests from Mr Pascoe, she altered her judgement to contain proper attribution but failed to alert the parties - a remarkable lapse for a judicial officer and a fact of which Mr Pascoe says he became aware only two weeks ago.
Mr Pascoe said she had "agreed to take leave so that she may be provided with additional training, counselling and appropriate mentoring over the next two months before returning to sitting duty". He said she would be confined to family law cases, as she has been for the past six months. "The use of material without attribution … is simply unacceptable in all areas of professional life."
The Chief Magistrate said the question of a judge's removal was for Parliament, but the case is sure to provoke debate on whether there should be a federal judicial commission to handle complaints and a more consultative appointments process.
Mr Pascoe, a former head of the law firm Phillips Fox, said when he came to the job in July 2004 there was a "significant backlog" of judgements. Most are now handed down within three months and Mr Pascoe said he had confidence in the "vast majority" of his magistrates.
Mr Pascoe said "much has been asked" of the court since its inception in 2001 and that he had asked the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, to bring forward appointments and provide more administrative support.
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