Royal commissioner: Lawyer X in cloud cuckoo land

Victoria Police have sought to prevent a jailed gangland killer from accessing evidence that may prove he was wrongly convicted.

Lawyer Nicola Gobbo is suing Victoria Police.

Lawyer X Royal Commissioner Margaret McMurdo said her hearing was entering “cloud cuckoo land” after Victoria Police sought to prevent a jailed gangland killer from accessing evidence that may prove he was wrongly convicted.

The Royal Commission took a remarkable turn this morning when Victoria Police applied to exclude lawyers representing those most seriously affected by Nicola Gobbo’s duplicitous conduct as a defence barrister and police informant — clients convicted on evidence she helped police collect.

The application was supported by the State of Victoria, which backed a plan by Victoria Police to eject the lawyers from a series of closed hearings expected to examine Ms Gobbo’s dealings with supergrass witnesses who rolled against Carl Williams, Tony Mokbel and other criminal figures involved in Melbourne’s gangland war.

The lawyers police wanted to exclude include solicitors and barristers representing Faruk Orman, a former client of Ms Gobbo convicted on evidence provided by another of her clients and Evangelous Goussis, a convicted murderer who is serving the longest minimum sentence of any surviving figure from the gangland war.

Goussis was convicted of shooting dead crime patriarch Lewis Moran based on evidence provided by a supergrass witness who had a serious of jailhouse meetings with Ms Gobbo.

Victoria Police wanted to deny the lawyers access to material before the Commission until hearing transcripts, statements and any exhibits were redacted for public interests immunity claims.

Counsel for Goussis, Adam Chernok, said it was offensive for Victoria Police to suggest that lawyers could not be trusted to handle sensitive information on behalf of their clients. “Kafka himself wouldn’t have dreamed it up,’’ he said.

Counsel assisting the Royal Commission, Chris Winneke QC, said it was “essential’’ for lawyers representing people potentially affected by Ms Gobbo’s conduct to be present in the hearings.

“This is the first time it has been suggested that potentially affected persons will not be in the hearing room or their lawyers wouldn’t be present in the hearing room to assist the Commission,’’ Mr Winneke said.

“In our submission, it’s absolutely essential and it is fundamental that the legal practitioners be present and they be able to get proper instructions.’’

The case of Faruk Orman is one of the most egregious in the entire Lawyer X saga. He was jailed in 2009 for 20 years for the murder of gangland figure Victor Peirce.

Victorian Attorney General Jill Hennessy today granted Orman a petition of mercy to return to the Victorian Court of Appeal to challenge his conviction. Ms Hennessy said there was “credible evidence” that Orman did not receive a fair trial.

“Based on all the material provided by Mr Orman’s lawyers, I am satisfied there is credible evidence that there may have been a miscarriage of justice in Mr Orman’s case arising from Nicola Gobbo’s conduct and use as a human source by Victoria Police,’’ Ms Hennessy said.

The Commission has been told that Ms Gobbo worked as a junior barrister on Orman’s legal team and helped prepare his defence.

Neither Orman nor his other lawyers knew that at the time, Gobbo in her secret role as a police informant was also helped build the case against him by providing privileged information back to police and advising the supergrass witness, another of her clients, on how to shape his statements implicating Orman.

The senior counsel who represented Orman at trial, Robert Richter QC, is understood to be appalled at the revelations and may be called to give evidence to the Commission.

There is other information before the Commission, known by police and prosecutors at the time of Orman’s trial but never provided to Orman’s lawyers, which throws into question the credibility of the supergrass witness.

Orman has initiated appeal proceeding against his conviction. Today’s Royal Commission hearings are expected to hear from Purana taskforce detectives who dealt directly with the supergrass witness.

Prior to today, Orman’s lawyers were given only heavily redacted statements of the police officers due to testify.

Mr Winneke said the situation was absurd. “I mean, his own name is redacted,’’ he said.

Commissioner McMurdo ordered that the lawyers be provided unredacted statements and be allowed to remain in the hearing room during the closed session.

The hearing continues.