Judge issued family violence order ‘may finish some decisions’ to avoid court delays

A Tasmanian Supreme Court judge on leave after being issued with a family violence order may still be asked to work on some reserved judgments to avoid ‘unreasonable delays’.

Tasmanian Supreme Court judge Gregory Geason. Picture: Sam Rosewarne

A Supreme Court judge on leave after being issued with a family violence order may still be asked to work on some reserved judgments to avoid “unreasonable delays”.

Tasmanian justice Gregory Geason was on Friday asked by Chief Justice Alan Blow to take leave in the wake of the order, ­details of which have not been ­released.

The Australian has since confirmed Justice Geason – who in 2021 was counselled by Justice Blow after he was photographed kissing his associate in a public bar – has since agreed to take leave.

However, Justice Geason is ­involved in a number of cases, including reserved judgments, such as a high-profile Full Court stoush involving conservationist Bob Brown, the Attorney-General and Chinese mining company MMG.

In response to questions to the court and Justice Blow, the ­Department of Justice would not rule out Justice Geason working on some reserved judgments while on leave.

“The Supreme Court is reviewing matters that have been listed before Justice Geason and will ­reallocate them as appropriate, and adjourn them if necessary,” a spokesman said. “Depending on developments, decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis about the disposition of Full Court and Court of Criminal Appeal matters with reserved decisions.”

Asked whether this meant Justice Geason may work on some reserved judgments while on leave, the response did not rule this out.

“If it appears that an unreasonable delay may arise in the finalisation of matters before the Full Court and Court of Criminal Appeal, the Chief Justice will consider what action is appropriate. The court needs to wait until more is known about the likely length of Justice Geason’s leave.

“When more information is available about that aspect of the situation, the Chief Justice will be in a better position to determine appropriate action in relation to any reserved decisions.”

The spokesman would not say how many matters were before Justice Geason, who was appointed in 2017. “There are a number of criminal matters listed over the next two weeks, as well as civil matters for the sittings commencing 20 November,” he said.

“Some are very short listings of 10 or 15 minutes, and others are more substantial.”

The state government has appointed an acting justice to avoid adding to an existing backlog of cases, but concerns remain about the court’s ability to handle the flow-on effects of Justice Geason’s absence.

Labor justice spokeswoman Ella Haddad said she was seeking a briefing from Justice Blow and wanted assurances any investigations into family violence allegations against Justice Geason would be “independent” with “no conflict of interest at any level”.

“This includes initial police investigations, any decision made by police or Director of Public Prosecution to press charges and ultimately if the matter reaches the Magistrates Court, someone from outside Tasmania must be appointed to hear the matter,” Ms Haddad said.

The Australian does not assert any wrongdoing by Justice Geason.