The Snitch: Who did Danny Lim support on Alan Jones court date?

What do Alan Jones and a beloved Sydney peace activist have in common? Which judge is rumoured to be about to quit? And which high profile lawyer is reactivating a sexual harassment appeal? The Snitch is here.

Danny Lim’s emoji placard is visible behind Alan Jones as he arrived at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court to face allegations of sexual assault on Wednesday. Picture: Roni Bintang/Getty Images

Beloved Sydney activist Danny Lim is well known for turning up to well attended spectacles to share his message – but mystery surrounds his intent when he turned up at Alan Jones’ first court date.

On the front steps of the Downing Centre on Wednesday, the pint sized 80-year-old pushed to the front of the media scrum and even donked Channel 9’s Simon Bouda in the face with his giant smiling emoji placard.

Popular peaceful street activist Danny Lim. Picture: Instagram

An experienced campaigner on how to get on the news, Lim then followed behind Jones and lawyers Chris Murphy and Bryan Wrench with the cameras catching the emoji head as the broadcaster walked towards Liverpool St.

Given Lim’s ideological leanings, you would assume he would not be there to support Jones.

But the activist was represented by Murphy in previous court cases.

This included one in 2019 when Lim was arrested with his dog Smarty and later fined over a placard that said “SMILE CVN’T”.

A similar case in 2017 saw a District Court judge overturn Lim’s conviction and fine for wearing a similar sign that mocked Tony Abbott.

We’ve only got an old number for Lim that went unanswered this week.

But we’d love to know, so give us a call.

JUDGE RUMOURS

There’s chatter in the corridors of the District Court that Judge Peter Whitford SC is set to pull the pin on his judicial career following his stoush with the states’ chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC.

Snitch has been told by multiple sources that Whitford came out of the battle with the Director of Public Prosecutions completely disillusioned.

There has been no official word from Whitford on his future.

But the word about his future is gathering momentum behind the bench.

One source said Whitford is “set to resign” and then lamented “what a waste of an excellent judge”.

“Lots of people are trying to talk him out of it,” the source said.

Is District Court Judge Peter Whitford SC set to pull the pin on his judicial career following his stoush with the DPP Sally Dowling SC?

One fellow judge said: “He’s too good at what he does to leave. We need him.”

Another source said: “The Judicial Commission treated him so badly.”

It was a reference to the state’s judicial watchdog, which partially upheld a complaint made about Judge Whitford by Ms Dowling.

The complaint came after Judge Whitford tore strips of Ms Dowling’s office earlier this year, accusing her office of launching rape cases that were doomed to fail.

Judge Whitford was enraged when Ms Dowling dragged his personal life into her complaint by saying he may have been influenced by his current and ex girlfriends – both of whom are judges.

HOUDA APPEAL

It seems the appeal by high profile solicitor Adam Houda to have the evidence in his sexual harassment case heard in secret is back on.

Hana Seraphim. Picture: Instagram

On Wednesday, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal allocated January 20 as a hearing date for the lawyer’s application to reinstate his appeal.

The move to reinstate the appeal came after it was thrown out earlier this month.

Tribunal records said this was because Houda or his legal team “failed to appear”.

The case was launched by fellow lawyer Hana Seraphim who has accused Houda of sexually harassing her when she was working as a trainee lawyer in his office. Houda has vigorously denied and is preparing to defend the allegation.

Houda is well known for taking on the cases of those accused of terrorism offences.

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