Accused mum Laura Hinks clashes with sovereign citizen as sparks fly in court ahead of kidnap trial

The mum accused of kidnapping her own daughter interrupted the man’s rant to tell him ‘sorry but this is not helping, I had something I needed to say today and you’ve just gone and ruined that’.

Craig Oldroyd (right) leaves the building ahead of another man who supported him in court on Tuesday. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A Darwin mum charged with kidnapping her own 5-year-old daughter has been forced to remonstrate with a sovereign citizen after he disrupted court proceedings against her.

Laura Hinks returned to the Supreme Court on Tuesday ahead of a trial for allegedly abducting the girl and attempting to abduct her 11-year-old brother due to begin in November.

The husband of co-accused Juliet Oldroyd, Craig Oldroyd, claimed to be an “attorney” who “can speak for my wife” but was told to sit down by Chief Justice Michael Grant as he is not an admitted legal practitioner.

Mr Oldroyd eventually complied but another man, who he said was with him but who did not identify himself, began to question the court’s authority.

“You have no jurisdiction or authority to overrule that coat of arms behind your shoulder there,” he told Chief Justice Michael Grant.

“You come under the king, the king, the crown, I don’t see your common law hanging behind your head there.”

After the man refused repeated requests to sit down and be quiet, Chief Justice Grant adjourned the hearing so he could be removed from the courtroom.

“We’re not leaving because we have the jurisdiction because of that coat of arms,” the man told the assembled court security guards.

“The minute you hang your king, the crown, the lion and the unicorn up there, OK, but you cannot do it in this building.”

By that point Hinks had had enough, telling the man “you’re not helping” and “you need to stop”.

Laura Adele Hinks outside the Supreme Court in Darwin where she stands charged with the alleged abduction of her daughter in 2022. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“This situation’s already stressful and we’re going to have to come back again, sorry but this is not helping, I had stuff I really needed to say today that was really important,” she said.

“I had something I needed to say today and you’ve just gone and ruined that.

“It took a lot of courage for me to come here and to stand and have to represent myself, now it’s going to be dragged out and come back again, go through more trauma, like, do you understand?”

After close to a dozen security guards flooded the courtroom without appearing to make any attempt to remove the man, the police were called and he eventually left the building.

Chief Justice Grant then reconvened the court in another room where Hinks revealed she had “been denied legal aid on the grounds that the case will be unsuccessful”.

“I’ve been denied the right to natural justice and procedural fairness at this point, I’ve been denied even legal aid, I just feel like I’m being deeply prejudiced here,” she said.

Hinks said she had been told “by another party that should not be privy to this case” that “I will be deported and I will be serving 20 years in prison, like it’s already been predetermined”.

But in adjourning the case until July, Chief Justice Grant assured her that was not the case and suggested she apply for a review of the decision to refuse her legal aid and take advice about seeking a stay of proceedings if that was unsuccessful.

“I’m the trial judge and there’s been absolutely no predetermination at all,” he said.

“If there is no application (for a stay), or if an application’s made and its unsuccessful, you will be required to represent yourself during the course of the trial.”

Chief Justice Grant said if Juliet Oldroyd failed to appear on the next occasion “I may have to do something coercive about that”.

The accused are yet to enter pleas.

Originally published as Accused mum Laura Hinks clashes with sovereign citizen as sparks fly in court ahead of kidnap trial