Victims face year-long wait for justice in SA’s District Court

VICTIMS are waiting more than a year to have their case heard in the backlogged District Court and each year about 100 trials fail to start because there is no judge or courtroom available.

The SA District Court in Adelaide.

VICTIMS are waiting more than a year to have their case heard in the backlogged District Court and each year about 100 trials fail to start because there is no judge or courtroom available.

The failures have emerged in briefing notes sent from Court administrators to Attorney-General John Rau who is battling to reform the way courts organise themselves.

In one document court administrators tell Mr Rau about trials waiting to start in the District Court from August 2015: “The earliest availability for a 3 to 5 day trial in Adelaide is August 2016. Long trials (10 days or more) can be listed in September 2016’’.

In another briefing, this time from Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, Mr Rau is told that around 100 district court criminal trials each year fail to start because there is no courtroom or judge.

In the latest figures available this was the case 111 times in 2013/14, and in the years before that 88, 95, 223 and 66 times.

Mr Rau told The Advertiser the system was being fixed but: “This information shows that Court delays are a system-wide issue and that reform is needed’’.

Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell criticised the delays but said current attempts to speed up trials with rewards for criminals who plead early are also unwelcome.

“Court delays cause unnecessary hardship for victims and their families and undermine public confidence in the system’s ability to deliver timely justice, hence the common expression, justice delay is justice denied,’’ he said.

“People might be reluctant to report crime and be witnesses at trials if they assume the delay will be too great.’’

Xenophon Team MLC John Darley said many constituents had complained about court delays and he asked the courts for figures using the powers of the Freedom of Information Act, which force the release of relevant documents.

“They need to appoint more judges and this is why we have to talk about getting judges in from overseas, and the other problem is that police are often not ready for the cases,’’ he said.

“As long as the economics are right and it doesn’t cost more it is worth looking at.

“People want the criminal justice system working properly to punish the guilty and prevent more crime from happening.’’

Mr Rau said the criminal justice system was being changed from “paper-based” and brought “into the 21st century’’.

“The Government has committed over $20 million to the courts for the development of an electronic case management system, and $2 million to the DPP for a prosecution case management system.

“Large-scale reform is being progressed through initiatives such as the sentencing act review and consideration of how major indictable matters are handled within the Criminal Justice System.

“Small scale reform is about incremental efficiencies within the system. An example is the Summary Procedure Amendment Bill, which streamlines the charging process and avoids the double handling of documents.’’

But Mr O’Connell said: “Speeding up the justice process by rewarding accused people with significant discounts, while attractive to some victims, is not perceived as fair and just by others’’.

“Court delays confirm the importance of audiovisual recording initial interviews with child victims and witnesses as well as other vulnerable people wherever possible; and, given the impact of court delay, confirms also the significance of allowing such recordings as evidence in criminal proceedings.’’