Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot has been appointed as the seventh ever female Justice of the High Court, marking the first time in Australia’s history that a majority of judges on Australia’s top court are women.
The High Court was ostensibly convened in his home state of Queensland to consider special leave applications, but something told Justice Patrick Keane that was not the full story.
The Albanese government has thrown its support behind a proposal to establish a federal judicial commission that would address questionable conduct by judges.
A test case stemming from the 2019 ‘sports rorts’ scandal will not make it to trial, after a club denied funding from a $100 million grants program discontinued its lawsuit against the Australian government agency responsible for community sports.
As he approaches his retirement, High Court Justice Patrick Keane was farewelled by the court’s Chief Justice this week, honoured for his “powerful intellect and industry”.
ClubsNSW has lost a bid to keep its contempt of court case against whistleblower Troy Stolz and YouTuber Jordan Shanks secret, with a judge finding “the interests of open justice are paramount”.
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Sarah McNaughton SC has been appointed as a judge on the NSW Supreme Court, bolstering the court’s criminal expertise.
A judge who has granted a lawyer leave to appear in proceedings via audio visual link has warned the legal profession that courts are expecting to “return to normal” and that tolerance for remote hearings has “come to an end”.
The Australian Law Reform Commission has recommended the establishment of a federal judicial commission as a “transparent and independent” way of addressing concerns about the conduct of judges.
A court has overturned a ruling by a federal judge repeatedly in the spotlight for his decisions, finding in the latest case that a fraud claim against a property purchaser in a dispute with bankruptcy trustees was a notion developed, pursued and upheld by the judge himself.