The Snitch: Bar Association moves to end Charles Waterstreet’s career
The NSW Bar Association has cancelled Charles Waterstreet’s practising certificate, ending the flamboyant 45-year career of the man rumoured to have inspired the ABC TV series Rake.
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The storied legal career of barrister Charles Waterstreet looks all but over.
Waterstreet had been in court fighting a move by the NSW Bar Association to suspend him from practising as a barrister.
But the Bar Association doubled down on Friday by cancelling Waterstreet’s practising certificate altogether.
The official reason was that Waterstreet did not meet the association’s requirements to be a “fit and proper person” on account of his bankruptcy following a six-figure tax debt.
Waterstreet indicated he would not likely challenge the cancellation and would take some time away from the law to write.
But when asked what his most memorable case was, he replied: “The next one.”
“I am grateful for the 45 years I spent at the Bar and it is with some comfort that the last case I did saw (the) children (of convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf) released from Iraq and the clutches of ISIS,” he said.
Waterstreet is one of the state’s most recognisable barristers and has acted on some of NSW’s highest profile cases.
His style was that of an intellectual court jester.
Waterstreet’s other trademark was his entourage of glamorous law students and paralegals who became known as “Charlie’s Angels”.
However this became a problem for Waterstreet after one of them accused him of sexual harassment, which he vehemently denied.
Talking of his future, Waterstreet took a shot at the Bar Association: “I’m going to detoxify from the effects of two years of harassment from the powers that be.”
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
The saying, “When you’re hot, you’re hot” is generally considered to be a good thing but in the world of courts and crime it equates to an increased workload.
Which brings us to criminal lawyer Omar Juweinat.
He’s set to juggle two cases on the same day in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal after both were challenged by prosecutors who thought the original sentences were too low.
The first is for Evie Amati, who was sentenced to a minimum of four years and six months in jail for randomly attacking two people with an axe in a Sydney 7-Eleven.
This came after the Crown in her District Court case asked for a minimum in the vicinity of six to seven years.
The lowest sentence Snitch could find for that charge before this case was about five years.
The other case is that of Scott Tobin.
Tobin got a minimum sentence of 12 months for colliding with a motorbike rider while intoxicated.
The motorbike rider died, but after the life of domestic violence he suffered and other arguments were raised in his sentencing, Tobin copped only the year.
The appeals are listed for July 26.
SNIFF TEST
What’s that smell? Well, it could very well be the whiff of justice.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is in negotiations to finalise the code of conduct its lawyers and other employees will have to abide by at work.
And there was one clause in the draft version that stood out when The Snitch gave it a bit of a sniff.
“If you use perfume or cologne, do so with restraint,” the document says.
Now, we’ve never noticed a haze of Old Spice when we’ve been in the DPP’s Liverpool St towers but clearly something has got up the noses of the powers that be because it seems staff may now have a directive to tone it down when it comes to the application of Britney Spears’ latest fragrance, or even Lynx Africa.
Actually, it’s probably not a bad thing, now that we think of it.
As for the rest of the code of conduct, staff can forget about wearing a Metallica T-shirt when locking up murderers, and body piercings are a no-no.
In his written response to the union, Acting DPP Peter McGrath SC raised a pertinent point about the section of the document that dealt with offensive language.
“If conversational swearing occurs within the office environment and is not considered as offensive by those present it would not be considered in breach of the code,” Mr McGrath wrote.
There’ll be quite a few in the office thankful for that.
The document also says staff should present “in a way that is appropriate for a law firm attended by members of the public, the police, and private practitioners”.
This rules out hiking boots, thongs and strapless or spaghetti-strapped tops that “expose your back or midriff”.
Clothing that displays logos or promotes causes should also be avoided. Body piercings and tattoos should not be visible.
It makes it difficult for fashion-minded legal eagles but at least they should smell good.
Got a snitch? Contact:
Ava.benny-morrison@news.com.au
or Brenden.hills@news.com.au
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