By Jesinta Burton and Claire Ottaviano
The state’s legal fraternity has come out swinging after Premier Roger Cook called for a magistrate who dubbed a domestic violence victim “petulant” and “volatile” to be reprimanded, accusing him of damaging public confidence in the rule of law.
Cook made headlines on Tuesday when he urged Chief Justice Peter Quinlan to “call in” magistrate Robert Young over language he used in court to describe a 25-year-old domestic violence victim during the sentencing of her perpetrator for aggravated assault causing bodily harm.
WA Premier Roger Cook urged Chief Justice Peter Quinlan to “call in” Magistrate Robert Young over comments he made during a sentencing. But is that within the chief justice’s remit?Credit: Hamish Hastie
Cook said he believed the language was “completely regrettable” and did not pass the pub test while expressing concern that it may deter other victims from coming forward.
“Ultimately, [Young] will be held accountable by the chief judge and other measures that we have inside the judicial system to make sure that our courts function properly,” he said.
“Look, [Quinlan] should certainly call him in.”
Several hours later, Quinlan released a statement declining to be drawn into the public debate and insisting it would be inappropriate to comment on the sentence.
The premier’s call for magistrate Young to be “called in” before the chief justice reveals a complete lack of understanding of the judicial hierarchy.
Criminal Lawyer’s Association
But the state’s peak legal bodies have leapt to the defence of the magistrate and the court process, prompting a war of words between the judiciary and the parliament.
Twenty-four hours later, the Western Australian Bar Association highlighted that Cook’s comments that Young would “be held accountable by the chief judge” were incorrect, pointing out the chief justice did not have the power to do so.
On Thursday, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association penned a scathing statement defending the judicial system and accusing Cook of ignoring a convention not to undermine another arm of government.
“Judges do not make personal attacks on the politicians responsible for legislation they are interpreting … the courts and the individual judges are entitled to a reciprocal level of respect,” the statement read.
“It is astonishing that the premier, of all people, should ignore that important convention.
“The premier’s call for magistrate Young to be “called in” before the chief justice reveals a complete lack of understanding of the judicial hierarchy, and the functions of the respective organs of government. It also misapprehends the role of the chief justice.”
The association pointed out that the Director of Public Prosecutions had the power to appeal if the magistrate’s language revealed error, but that it had not done so.
“The magistrate was obliged to act according to his oath of office which demands that he ‘do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill will’,” the statement read.
“If the prosecuting authorities consider that there has been an error in the disposition of the matter, the appropriate course is to institute an appeal against the decision. If the magistrate has made an error, it will be corrected by a higher court after a review of all of the evidence which was before the magistrate, as well as upon a consideration of the legislation relating to sentencing.
“The ‘pub test’ has no place in the analysis.”
The premier was more measured in his commentary on Thursday, telling the media he supported the independence of the judiciary but maintaining that judges and magistrates were not beyond being held to account.
7News Perth reported that Young branded the victim — who was punched twice outside the WA Art Gallery in Northbridge in August 2023 — a “petulant, volatile, confrontational, defensive and disrespectful” witness and declared he believed the adjectives “may well describe her more broadly”.
He also described her facial bruising as “relatively superficial” and referenced the punch, captured on CCTV, as being more akin to “throwing an elbow”.
While stating that he did not wish to minimise the assault or family violence more generally, Young dubbed the perpetrator an “otherwise functional and intelligent person” before handing him a fine of $1500.
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