Constable Zach Rolfe’s lawyers apply to have murder trial held in Darwin

Lawyers for the NT Police officer charged with murdering a Yuendumu teenager last year will apply to have his trial moved Darwin, the Supreme Court has heard.

Constable Zach Rolfe’s murder trial is scheduled to begin on July 19 next year.

• NT police officer Zach Rolfe to face trial in Supreme Court for alleged murder of Kumanjayi Walker

LAWYERS for the NT Police officer charged with murdering Yuendumu teenager Kumanjayi Walker last year will apply to have his trial moved Darwin, the Supreme Court has heard.

In a preliminary hearing before registrar Sally Bolton in Alice Springs on Tuesday, Constable Zach Rolfe’s lawyer, David Edwardson QC, lodged an application to have the venue changed ahead of the trial scheduled to commence on July 19 next year.

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Mr Edwardson asked that his submissions filed with the court on the application to change venue not be released to the media before “we have an opportunity at least to be heard”.

“The problem is that much of the argument will revolve around pre-trial publicity and I think, again out of an abundance of caution — I’m sure the Crown would endorse this — it is better that we have that now, at least at this stage, because otherwise it’s only going to exacerbate the problem and we’re not seeking to do that to our advantage,” he said.

“I have no difficulty with the publication of the fact of an application per se, that’s a given and it’s probably appropriate that it is published, so that there is at least some transparency, if I can put it that way, in the process.”

Ms Bolton ordered the submissions not be released before the question could be determined by the trial judge next month but prosecutor Collette Dixon indicated the Crown would oppose the application for the trial to proceed in Darwin.

Rolfe’s defence team previously applied for the committal hearing in the Local Court to be heard in Darwin due to intense media coverage and heightened emotions around the case in Central Australia but were unsuccessful.

That proceeding was heard by a judge alone in Alice Springs who determined the evidence was sufficient to commit the matter for trial last month.

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The trial is now expected to run for five weeks and Justice Dean Mildren will hear the application to change venues on December 11.

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