The Snitch: Controversial judgments criticising DPP Sally Dowling removed from record

Why have two controversial judgments been removed from the public record? Who is on Bassam Hamzy’s hate list? What’s the latest with cricketer Stuart MacGill’s case? The Snitch is here.

It doesn’t take much for Snitch to go into conspiracy theory mode.

And recent moves by the NSW District Court have given us plenty to work with in that department.

The written judgments in which two judges ripped into the state’s prosecuting agency, and DPP Sally Dowling SC, for launching rape cases that were doomed to fail have both been removed from the public record.

And it comes as one of the judges, Robert Newlinds SC, was annihilated by the state’s judicial review board after a complaint was made about his conduct in the case he presided over. The other judge, Peter Whitford SC, is awaiting to see if he will receive the same treatment after a similar complaint was made about his conduct.

Both complaints to the NSW Judicial Commission were made by Ms Dowling.

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC. Picture: AAP Image

In his December 5 judgment in a case where a man was acquitted of rape, Judge Newlinds blasted Ms Dowling’s office and wrote that there appeared to be an “unwritten policy” where rape complainants had to be believed, no matter how weak the case was.

In February, Judge Whitford made a similar criticism at the end of a failed rape case where he said that the DPP was prosecuting cases “without apparent regard to whether there might be reasonable prospects of securing a conviction”.

Judge Robert Newlinds said there seemed to be an ‘unwritten policy’ where rape complainants had to be believed, no matter how weak their case. Picture: AAP Image

The recent timeline of events has got Snitch wondering.

On August 19, the Judicial Commission recommended Judge Newlinds be benched from hearing criminal trials, and made a scathing assessment of his conduct in the case.

Four days after that, Judge Whitford’s written judgment was removed from the website where the state’s court decisions are published.

On August 29, the same thing happened with Newlinds’ judgment.

The Judicial Commission is yet to hand down its findings in the complaint against Whitford, leading us to wonder if this all means something.

Could someone please hand me my tinfoil hat?

HAMZY HATE LIST

Crime boss, and jailed murderer, Bassam Hamzy holds a grudge and was set to incorporate some ill feelings into his planned billion-dollar resort development in Central America.

We’re told there is one particular female prison officer that Hamzy hates.

To save us from a costly defamation suit, let’s call her Jane Smith*.

Sources told us that Hamzy had a plan to incorporate a brothel into the resort that was to be built in the Caribbean nation of Belize to go along with a casino, hotel towers, water slides and all the trimmings.

“He was going to call it (the brothel) ‘The Jane Smith* Centre,” the source said.

*Name changed.

Jailed crime boss Bassam Hamzy’s mugshot from 2011.

Former cricketer Stuart MacGill. Picture: Nikki Short

MACGILL CASE LOOMS

We will get a sense in the near future of where cricketer Stuart MacGill is up to in his bid to defend himself against police allegations he set up a cocaine deal.

The famed spin bowler is listed to front the Sydney District Court on September 20 for a readiness hearing in the case where he has pleaded not guilty to setting up a 1kg cocaine deal.

MacGill’s case has been fast-tracked because it has to go before the case of the men accused of kidnapping the ex-Test cricketer.

The reason being is that MacGill is a witness in the alleged kidnappers’ cases.

LAWYERLESS RAPIST

Notorious rapist Simon Monteiro, aka Simon Lowe, was lawyerless in his recent NSW Supreme Court bail application.

Monteiro has been hunting around for legal representation of late, but appears to have come up short.

Rapist Simon Monteiro wears a mask at a recent court appearance. Picture: Christian Gilles

A chat group of leading female lawyers recently warned each other off representing Monteiro based on how he behaved.

Monteiro also told the Supreme Court in July he was in talks with lawyer and ex-NRL chairman Colin Love to represent him in his bid to sue the state for $20 million for allegedly torturing him behind bars.

The convicted rapist was applying for bail on August 22 after being arrested and locked up for breaching his extended supervision order.

Justice Ian Harrison granted Monteiro bail.

Got a Snitch? Email brenden.hills.news.com.au