Zachary Rolfe murder trial: hearing delayed until September 10

The trial of NT police officer Zachary Rolfe will not go ahead today as planned after an application from crown prosecutors.

NT constable Zachary Rolfe. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The murder trial of NT police officer Zachary Rolfe will not go ahead today as planned after the High Court accepted an application from crown prosecutors to delay the case.

Constable Rolfe stands accused of murdering 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot during an arrest attempt in the Central Australian community of Yuendumu in November 2019. He has pleaded not guilty.

Kumanjayi Walker.

Crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC on Friday argued the trial should be put on hold to give the High Court a chance to consider an application appealing a previous NT Supreme Court decision that allows Constable Rolfe to claim immunity from civil and criminal liability under the Police Administration Act.

To overcome that defence, the crown would need to prove ­beyond reasonable doubt that Constable Rolfe was not acting in good faith when he shot Walker three times.

Just an hour before the trial was scheduled to commence on Monday, High Court judge Jacqueline Gleeson ruled the case of an exceptional nature and granted a stay until September 10 when the court will hear the special leave application about the defence issue.

Mr Strickland on Friday argued that if the trial proceeded as planned, Mr Rolfe could be acquitted of a “most serious charge” because of the full court’s “error.”

On granting the stay Justice Gleeson said the injustice of a possible acquittal of a police officer for the murder of a young man “on the basis of an incorrect ruling on a question of law” was of a “different magnitude.”

“The trial of a member of the Police Force, whose functions included the protection of life, in connection with the death of the deceased, is a matter of the gravest community concern,” she said. “The scope of the respondent’s available defences is of central importance in the trial.”

On Friday Constable Rolfe’s barrister, Bret Walker SC, argued any delay to a trial should be avoided. But Justice Gleeson said the trial has already been fragmented due to the special leave application and the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The jury was due to be empanelled at 10am this morning.