Lawyer X commission hearing next week as former Supreme Court judge brands scandal ‘a disaster’

The Lawyer X royal commission will start next week, as a former Victorian Supreme Court judge brands the scandal “a disaster”.

Former Victorian Supreme Court judge Bernard Teague. Picture: Ellen Smith.

Victoria’s Lawyer X royal commission will hold its first directions hearing next week.

The royal commission into the management of police informants this afternoon confirmed that the hearing would take place next Friday, February 15 at 10am.

Commissioner Margaret McMurdo AC and Counsel Assisting the Commission Chris Winneke QC will both make opening statements.

The news comes after former Victorian Supreme Court judge Bernard Teague branded the Lawyer-X scandal engulfing the state a “disaster” and concerns emerged in NSW that police may have used criminal lawyers as informants.

NSW Police issued a statement this afternoon, saying they had conducted an audit of their use of informants as far back as 2003, and “no evidence of alleged breaches of legal professional privilege have been identified, nor has any conduct similar to that alleged in the Victorian ‘Lawyer X’ matter become apparent”.

Yesterday it was revealed that the informer identified as 3838 had been registered as a police informant since 1995, a decade earlier than police had previously advised.

Six police informants including Lawyer-X who held “obligations of confidentiality” will be investigated by the royal commission, the Herald Sun revealed.

Public hearings are expected to start in mid to late March, with applications from those wishing to be granted leave to appear due by February 15.

Ms McMurdo today invited members of the public and relevant organisations to make written submissions relevant to the commission’s terms of reference.

They have until March 8 to make submissions relating to the number of, and the extent to which, cases may have been affected by the conduct of the criminal defence barrister turned informant, Lawyer X.

The commission will later turn to the adequacy and effectiveness of Victoria Police’s current processes for disclosures about recruiting, handling and managing human sources who are subject to legal obligations of confidentiality or privilege (including any who come to the commission’s attention during its inquiry), and “the use of such human source information in the broader criminal justice system, including whether these procedures should be used, and if so, how they can be best implemented in the future.”

Submissions on the second and third terms of reference are due by April 5.

Commissioner McMurdo urged anyone who had concerns about their dealings with Lawyer X, either as legal practitioner or as informant, to make a submission to the royal commission.

“Input from individuals, particularly those who may have been directly affected by EF’s conduct, is essential to the royal commission’s inquiry,” Commissioner McMurdo said.

A spokeswoman said the commission intended to stick with the timetable set in December, despite yesterday’s revelations.

The commission is due to report on the number of, and extent to which, cases may have been affected by Informant 3838’s conduct by 1 July 2019, and on all remaining matters under its terms of reference by 1 December 2019.

Mr Teague, who headed the inquiry into the Black Saturday fires, described the scandal as a “disaster” that required intense scrutiny.

“What information that is in the public at the moment … it will take a lot of investigation as to be satisfied into how these things came about,” he told the ABC.

Hyde stands down

Former South Australian police commissioner Malcolm Hyde was forced to stand down as one of two royal commissioners on Wednesday, citing a perceived conflict of interest due to a 30-year career with Victoria Police which ended in 1997.

Victoria Police said the mistake was due to shortcomings in record keeping practices.

The Australian reported today that Lawyer X, then a promising final year law student, was busted for drug trafficking in 1993 after police raided her share house and found $82,000 worth of amphetamines.

Two months later, the trafficking charge against Lawyer X, a member of a prominent legal family and at the time the niece of a Victorian Supreme Court judge, was dropped.

She pleaded guilty to the less serious charge of possession and no conviction was recorded.

Mr Teague said the scandal had undermined the integrity of the legal system.

“This does undermine confidence in a way that’s totally understandable.” he said.

Meanwhile, NSW police assurances came after NSW Bar Association president Tim Game SC requested a meeting with the state’s law enforcement agencies and public prosecutors in the wake of the Lawyer X revelations to “seek assurances as to whether these matters were occurring in NSW”.

In its statement in the wake of their audit of informers back to 2002, which identified “no evidence of alleged breaches of legal professional privilege” NSW Police added: “NSW Police Force are obliged under the law to disclose to the Director of Public Prosecutions all material relevant to the prosecution of an alleged indictable offence if the DPP is involved in the prosecution of the offence.”

— With AAP