Barrister argues Dianne Jolley case ‘ridiculous’
A Sydney professor accused of mailing herself her own knickers masked as a threat is no “drama queen”, a court has heard.
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A Sydney professor accused of mailing herself her own knickers masked as a threat is no “drama queen”, a court has heard.
The jury in the trial of former University of Technology dean of sciences Dianne Jolley on Wednesday heard closing statements from both the defence and Crown in the bemusing case.
The 51-year-old denies she executed a hate campaign against herself over six months by sending “disturbing” letters and staging a home invasion.
She has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including sending herself 10 letters causing the school to fork out $120,000 in security costs to protect her.
Jolley, seen by the public as responsible for job losses as a result of a Chinese medicine course ending, maintains she was the victim of “stalkerish” behaviour as a result.
She admitted in court to writing one letter to break her contract and be fired, claiming she could not handle the ongoing threats.
Jolley’s barrister Leah Rowan on Wednesday attacked the Crown case as “frankly nonsense”.
“What possible reason could there be for a dean of science to send her underwear to herself through the mail. It is not just implausible, it is ridiculous,” she told the court.
“She has had to sit while her underwear has been bandied around this room. She has had to sit through the media reporting on her underwear. Just stop and think about the humiliation of being put in that position. I don‘t know if the Crown’s proposition is that Professor Jolley is some sort of drama queen, despite the fact that she has never shown any sort of behaviour that would be consistent with that.”
Ms Rowan told the court 170 people who were losing their jobs or affected by the closure of the science course had a motive to send Jolley threats.
“These are people who have a real motive — skin in the game — who would be affected by the closure of course,” she said.
Prosecutor Roger Kimbell used his last address to the jury on Wednesday to outline the evidence, including Jolley’s fingerprint on a letter she supposedly never touched, CCTV and an intercepted phone call between Jolley and her assistant Doreen Borg.
Jolley said in the November, 2019 phone call played to the court: “As things have gone on through the year I found it really hard...when the first lot of threats were coming in it was nice to know we had support. But when the support was disappearing I made some bad judgment calls.”
“Two of the letters that were sent, were sent from me, because I wanted more support...and I should have gone to see a psychologist...I’ve been naughty twice, but now I’ve been accused of everything.”
Under cross-examination, Jolley said she was referring to one letter she is charged for and a separate email she sent which is not part of the charges.
Mr Kimbell told the court Jolley’s “clear” fingerprint, identified by an expert under a stamp of a letter she had not touched, was proof she wrote the letters.
“There is no possible way that print could have got there,” he told the court.
The defence argued the forensic test was not verified, so it should not be relied upon.
The Crown argued Jolley performed a “pattern of behaviour”, writing in black bold on single printed sheets of A4 paper, with similar font and on greeting cards.
And the jury should find it “ridiculous” she would purposefully write a letter to be fired by misconduct, rather than cease to show up to work for 10 days, which would also terminate her employment.
“I submit you would find that suggestion ridiculous,” Mr Kimbell said.
He summarised the prosecution case, telling the jury she initially planted letters in the school staffroom, then escalated the threats by staging a home invasion - cutting up her expensive clothes and spreading them outside the property.
He said she made up stories, including being approached outside of work and that she lied about receiving a threatening letter which said her picture would be passed on to the Chinese Mafia.
He also told the jury that she told the court the “Chinese Mafia’ details during evidence, but never told police the details.
The jury will deliberate in the coming days on the two arguments presented to them.
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