The Snitch: Sydney underworld figures on edge as police legal battle to access lawyer’s phone

How close did police go to accessing the secrets hidden on a lawyer’s phone? Where has Shane Drumgold SC popped up? And a junior-ish lawyer did WHAT at a courtroom bar table? The Snitch is here.

A large section of Sydney’s underworld was on edge after police went close to landing an audacious legal bid to get backdoor access to the secrets held on their lawyer’s phone.

The high-profile lawyer, whose name was suppressed by the NSW Supreme Court, has represented a large number of criminals who police consider top-of-the-tree targets and are some of Australia’s most dangerous people.

So for investigators to get hold of the legally privileged documents, communications and other material on the phone would have landed a major blow against some major crime figures.

Details of the legal bid can be revealed after Justice Natalie Adams upheld a challenge in the Supreme Court by the lawyer against police gaining access to the phone.

Justice Adams ruled the material on the phone was legally privileged and that it be returned to the lawyer on February 7.

Police made a legal bid to access data on the lawyer’s phone

The case revealed what could have been an ingenious legal manoeuvre from the police to access the phone.

Originally, detectives had sought access to the phone while investigating a shooting that was not related to the lawyer’s clients.

Those police were granted strict access by a court to a very limited amount of information on the phone.

Before the phone could be returned to the lawyer, another section of the police — State Crime Command’s Criminal Groups Squad — made a second legal bid to get more wide-ranging access to the contents of the lawyer’s phone.

The first the lawyer heard about it was when they were sent a warrant from the squad.

The lawyer’s attempts to narrow the terms of the warrant were unsuccessful.

So the battle went to the Supreme Court that was told the warrant “sought all data on the telephone pertaining to specified offences”, which included drug supply.

Justice Adams ruled the warrant was too wide, and invalid, before ordering the police to hand back the lawyer’s phone and pay their legal costs.

The case was watched closely by many other lawyers who had major concerns over the consequences if the police won.

“It basically would have set a precedent that removed legal professional privilege between a lawyer and a client,” one lawyer said. “That’s Afghanistan-type shit.”

DRUMGOLD BACK

Born-again barrister Shane Drumgold SC has landed in Parramatta District Court, where he has been appearing in cases on behalf of the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.

Our spies tell us that Mr Drumgold, the former ACT DPP, has been appearing at the court for the past two weeks.

Back at work: Shane Drumgold. Picture: Martin Ollman

But Mr Drumgold has been going to some lengths to keep a low profile and not reveal publicly which cases he is working on.

When we called him on Saturday, Mr Drumgold said: “An ethical barrister does not speak about his cases.”

It leaves us wondering what all the secrecy is about.

We had someone from NSW DPP Sally Dowling SC’s office calling us after we revealed that she had briefed him on a number of cases.

Stay tuned.

JUDGE ERUPTS

District Court Judge Stephen Hanley rightfully blew up at a solicitor who had a millennial moment in his court on Friday.

One of Snitch’s correspondents was in court when the female solicitor stood up at the bar table to address the judge in what was an absolutely packed Court 3.1 inside the Sydney District Court.

Judge Stephen Hanley was unimpressed when a solicitor held up the court to make a phone call.

Noticing the lawyer’s client was not in the court, Judge Hanley asked where he was.

It turned out the lawyer didn’t know either.

The usual procedure would have been for the lawyer to stand her matter down or briefly excuse her while she sought a quick answer.

Instead, the lawyer whipped out her phone and made a call to her client from the bar table —keeping the rest of the busy court waiting.

A ten-out-of-ten blow-up ensued.

Turns out the client was in the lift on their way to the vending machine.

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