SA Chief Justice Chris Kourakis silent on harassment claims by lawyer Claire O’Connor
THE state’s Chief Justice has refused to comment on whether he will investigate lawyer Claire O’Connor’s claim she was harassed or bullied by a District Court judge.
THE state’s Chief Justice has refused to comment on whether he will investigate a leading lawyer’s claim she was harassed or bullied by a District Court judge.
Inquiries by The Advertiser to Supreme Court Chief Justice Chris Kourakis have gone unanswered, despite emails, text messages and multiple phone calls.
Seven questions, sent to the head of the courts’ media unit, at 12.30pm, did not receive a reply.
In a follow-up phone call at 4.30pm, a member of the unit’s staff said the department head was “unavailable for the rest of the day”.
On Friday, The Advertiser reported that leading lawyer Claire O’Connor SC had claimed on Facebook that she had been sexually harassed or bullied by a lawyer who is now a judge.
She also criticised her profession for overvaluing parentage, gender, skin colour and sexual preference over diversity. Read that story here.
A spokeswoman for Judicial Conduct Commissioner Bruce Lander said his office could not investigate allegations made about judges that predated their appointments to the bench.
On Friday, University of SA Emeritus Professor Barbara Pocock said harassment centred on the less-powerful being victimised by those wielding authority and control.
While not commenting specifically on Ms O’Connor’s claim, Professor Pocock said extensive international research showed harassment was under reported and under investigated.
“That’s because the person who has been harassed very rarely comes through the experience (of an investigation) unscathed,” she said.
“Questions are frequently asked about their integrity and history, and they are most commonly people with less scope to seek practical redress.”
She said seeing a harasser climb to an even more prominent or powerful position in society could be “absolutely deleterious” for the harassed person.
“Allegations should be investigated in a timely and prompt manner, and with an open mind — those are the principles of a good justice system,” she said.
In an email to Law Society members on Friday, president David Caruso said Ms O’Connor’s post was “being considered”.
“The society remains, as it always has been, committed to upholding transparency in the administration of justice, equality, fairness and evidence-based approaches,” he said.