Gangland cop loses bid to suppress his name in Lawyer X final report
A mystery gangland cop’s audacious bid to strip his name from one of the justice system’s “greatest scandals” has spectacularly failed and he will instead be to be named and shamed in the wrap up of the Lawyer X saga.
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A gangland cop who says he fears for his life has failed in a bid to stop the Lawyer X royal commission naming and shaming him.
The officer, whose identity remains a mystery for now, had attempted to convince the Court of Appeal his name should be suppressed from the Royal Commission’s final report into Victoria Police’s use of barrister-turned-police informer Nicola Gobbo.
Commissioner Margaret McMurdo had earlier refused to redact the name of the senior anti-gangland officer who gave evidence, in public hearings, to the commission.
The Chief Commissioner had argued Commissioner McMurdo’s decision to rebuff the suppression order was “legally irrational”.
But on Wednesday, the Court of Appeal affirmed her decision, dismissing the officer’s appeal.
The officer had claimed he could be endangered if named and gave evidence of a series of threatening Facebook posts and a “walkover” by two men – one linked to a serious drug trafficker and the other a high-level organised crime family – near his house last year.
The force’s latest court action has been viewed by the commission as an attempt to save reputations.
In its written judgment handed down on Wednesday, the court echoed Commissioner McMurdo’s concerns that granting a suppression order to one officer would “open the door to all police officers”.
“It would not be surprising if there were a spate of additional officers who sought to take advantage of anonymisation pursuant to any such finding,” the court stated.
The court said suppression orders would make any recommendations by the commission’s “far less potent” and would have a severe impact on the rights of those who may have been the victims of Ms Gobbo’s conduct.
“The community as a whole would be disadvantaged through a lack of transparency in relation to what might prove to be one of the greatest scandals of our time in relation to the workings of the criminal justice system,” the court found.
The ruling paves the way for the release of a 2000 page report on Monday ahead of a final report into the legal saga in November.
The report is expected to deliver adverse findings against a large number of past and present police officers.
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