George Pell’s lawyer Robert Richter QC refutes claims he has quit
Top barrister Robert Richter QC will no longer be part of George Pell’s legal team ahead of the convicted Cardinal’s appeal, but has refuted reports he has abandoned the legal fight.
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Top barrister Robert Richter QC will no longer be part of George Pell’s legal team ahead of the convicted Cardinal’s appeal, but has refuted reports he has abandoned the legal fight.
Mr Richter said he had not quit Pell’s appeal, instead saying “objective judgment” was needed for the case.
It is normal practice for appeals to be argued by different counsel.
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“It is false to say I quit the legal team, I don’t quit,” Mr Richter told the Herald Sun.
High-profile barrister Bret Walker SC will head Pell’s appeal.
The veteran barrister said he had become too closely involved to objectively lead the appeal and acknowledged he was angry at last week’s guilty verdict.
Mr Richter drew criticism last week when he described Pell’s offending as “plain vanilla” during a pre-sentence hearing.
The veteran lawyer later apologised for his comments vowing to “never repeat such carelessness in my choice of words”.