We received a complaint from a legal practitioner concerning an officer’s conduct during a trial. The complaint alleged the Officer’s conduct constituted judicial bullying and described the impact of the conduct on the legal professional as distressing and humiliating, affecting their ability to work.

We contacted the legal practitioner at the start of our investigation to respond to the concerns raised in the complaint about their health and wellbeing. We provided details of welfare support services that were available, including those specific to the profession. We also explained our complaint and investigation process, specific avenues open to legal practitioners under the JCV Act to make complaints, potential outcomes and the expected timeframe for completion of the investigation.

To investigate the complaint, we listened to the audio recording of the proceeding and applied the JCG on Judicial Bullying. In assessing the conduct, we acknowledged the experience of the legal professional while having regard to how a reasonable community member would perceive or experience the Officer’s conduct.

We dismissed the complaint, finding that (among other things):

The Officer’s tone remained respectful, calm and professional throughout the proceeding, and could not be described as mocking, derisive or excessively frustrated.
On rare occasions, the Officer spoke in a frank and robust way; however, in the context of the exchange(s) and having regard to the JCG, it was not inappropriate.
The nature of the Officer’s interruptions was not inappropriate in the context of seeking to draw the legal professional’s attention to a particular issue or clarify a point.

Although the legal practitioner was disappointed with the findings of the investigation, at the conclusion, they thanked us for our support during the investigation process and appreciated that their experience had been acknowledged.

The impact of providing complainant support during an investigation