Coronavirus complicates Bravos trial with counsel set to self-isolate for May hearing

A PRE-RECORDED evidence hearing in former top cop Peter Bravos’s rape trial will still go ahead even if interstate counsel has to self-isolate for two weeks in order to appear, a court has heard

Barrister John Lawrence SC said ‘Donald Trump is about the only person on the planet who thinks things will return to normal in July’

A PRE-RECORDED evidence hearing in former top cop Peter Bravos’s rape trial will still go ahead even if interstate counsel has to self-isolate for two weeks in order to appear, a court has heard.

Bravos is set to face trial in the Supreme Court in July on two historic rape charges dating back to the mid-2000s but matters have now been complicated by coronavirus restrictions.

Two judges have so far recused themselves from the case and it is now due to be heard by a judge from interstate with prosecutors also flying up interstate counsel to appear for the Crown.

A prerecord hearing had been listed for May 18 and Crown prosecutor Tami Grealy called the matter on again on Thursday to discuss whether that date would have to be vacated in light of the health crisis.

But Justice Judith Kelly ruled there was no reason not to proceed on that date and Ms Grealy said prosecutors would make arrangements for their chosen lawyer to appear.

That ruling was opposed by Mr Bravos’s lawyer John Lawrence SC, who said “I think Donald Trump is about the only person on the planet who thinks things will return to normal in July (let alone May).”

An at times combative Mr Lawrence said he wanted to know who the trial judge would be and if another judge was hearing the prerecord, who they would be, in case he needed to make further applications for their recusal.

“If you’re still minded to have this matter heard here on the 18th of May with a Victorian barrister apparently going to come up here and sit for two weeks in quarantine but we can’t let the judge do the same thing then I would like to know who the judge is that’s going to hear the prerecord now so that I can consider whether we’ll yet again have to make another application to recuse that judge for all the same reasons that this case is absolutely littered with,” he said.

When Justice Kelly told Mr Lawrence no judges had yet been assigned, he took aim at the Territory justice system saying “We’re just going to have to go through the whole thing again”.

“Brilliant, so we’ll all come back again for another hour or a day in court — is this how the system works up here is it?” he said.

“I want on the record that I oppose your honour’s suggestion, which has now become apparently a decision, without any warning, that you’re just going to bat on on the 18th of May with a judge that we don’t know who it is.”

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But Justice Kelly was unswayed and ordered the dates remain in place.

“Hopefully everything will be settled by then and it’ll be back to business as usual but if it’s not … decisions will be made just depending on the state of play with the virus situation,” she said.

“In the meantime that trial date should stand until we know otherwise and I don’t see why the prerecord shouldn’t go ahead, there’ll be plenty of judges available here.”