‘Self-indulgent and disrespectful: NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell slams magistrate Roger Prowse

Andrew Bell has panned a rogue regional magistrate for being ‘openly critical’ of senior judges.

NSW Supreme Court Chief Justice Andrew Bell. Picture: Michele Mossop

NSW Supreme Court chief justice Andrew Bell has panned a rogue regional magistrate for launching a “self-indulgent and disrespectful” attack on multiple superior judges, warning all low-level court officials to respect the judicial hierarchy.

Roger Prowse was the subject of Justice Bell’s stern criticism during an address to the annual NSW Local Court Conference on Wednesday, in which Justice Bell accused Mr Prowse of corroding the rule of law.

Justice Bell’s comments came one month after Mr Prowse was criticised by NSW Supreme Court justice David Davies for making “inappropriate remarks”, after he attacked former High Court judge Michael Kirby, NSW Court of Appeal judge John Basten, and Supreme Court judge Dina Yehia in a judgment.

NSW magistrate Roger Prowse who has worked across local courts in regional courts in NSW and in Sydney.

In his address, Justice Bell highlighted the importance of court hierarchy, and praised Justice Davies for his rebuke of Mr Prowse, and for overturning his ruling.

“Although it is meaningful and valuable to conceive and speak of one judiciary in New South Wales, that one judiciary has a hierarchy that must be respected,” he said.

“As Justice Davies has recently pointed out, in an appeal from the Local Court which achieved some notoriety, this is not for reasons of status, vanity or the personal sensitivity on the part of appellate or Supreme Court judges but because respect for the decisions of courts higher in the judicial hierarchy is a fundamental aspect of the rule of law, as is the ability to appeal and the doctrine of precedent.”

Justice Bell continued to say if judges of “lower courts” do not respect or are “seen to be openly critical” of decisions of superior courts, “why should we expect members of the public to respect any judicial decision?”

“The same applies to judicial criticism or even personal attacks on other judges in the judicial hierarchy including self-indulgent and disrespectful suggestions that they are out of touch,” he said. “Comments such as these are corrosive of respect for the rule of law.”

The Australian understands Mr Prowse, who has worked across numerous local courts predominantly in regional NSW, has a history of speaking his mind, once telling a man he was “lower than a snake’s duodenum”.

He recently told domestic violence defendant Glenn Dirix he was “disgusting, reprehensible, vile, scandalous” and if he had “a choice of speaking with Mr Dirix or picking up dog excreta, I’d go for the dog excreta really because it’s less odious”.

In 2016, Mr Prowse was strongly criticised by the NSW Supreme Court for incorrectly applying the law, after he falsely accused police of contempt of court and then tried to permanently halt proceedings against a man accused of assaulting a child protection worker.