WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?

NO ROOM Southport court jam with no 2021 trial dates left as COVID delays and huge workloads leave victims waiting years for a result and those acquitted languishing in custody

JUSTICE delayed is justice denied – and the Gold Coast better get used to it unless the Southport court precinct is expanded and judges are increased.

Southport lawyers say more victims are waiting years for offenders to be brought before the courts – and it is because of huge workloads, COVID delays and more alleged criminals waiting to defend charges.

They say it has got to the point where there are no trial dates left in the Southport District Court diary in 2021 and those pleading guilty are having to wait four or five months to be sentenced. Hannay Lawyers director Chris Hannay is among those calling for an expanded precinct.

Delays mean victims are waiting longer for justice, witness memories deteriorate and those acquitted may spend longer in custody on remand than necessary. Recent Gold Coast trials were for incidents that happened in 2018 and Allen & Searing Criminal Lawyers director Jodi Allen said the backlog was “getting worse”.

The Chief Judge said the Southport court was managing its workload adequately.

A GOLD Coast woman was almost run off the road in 2016 and a note left in her underwear while she wasn’t home.

The same man would go on to hold down, choke and rape another woman two years later.

Both women had to wait until last month – up to five years since the first assault – to finally see justice.

Sadly, they are not alone. Southport lawyers say more victims are waiting years for offenders to be brought before the courts – and it is because of huge workloads, COVID delays and more alleged criminals waiting to defend charges.

They say it has got to the point where there are no trial dates left in the Southport District Court diary in 2021 and those pleading guilty are having to wait four or five months to get sentenced.

However, the Chief Judge said the Southport court was managing its workload adequately.

Southport lawyers have repeatedly called for the court precinct to be expanded and many have backed a plan to build an additional court building across from the courthouse in Mal Burke Car Park.

“The quicker they build something in the car park the better,” Hannay Lawyers director Chris Hannay said.

The proposal would include an additional permanent District Court judge, Supreme Court, Federal and Family Court facilities and a Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal registry.

Currently, the Southport courthouse has three permanent judges with others from Brisbane visiting occasionally to help with the workload.

“We need another judge,” Mr Hannay said.

Five courtrooms in Southport are set up to house juries but there is not enough space to run four jury trials simultaneously. One of the court rooms with a jury box is regularly used as a magistrates court and as a coroner’s court.

In the court diary, each judge is allocated a number one trial. A number of reserve trials will be listed in case the first trial cannot go ahead.

In Southport, all the number one spots for 2021 are taken and the reserve trial dates are few and far between.

“There is not enough room,” Mr Hannay said. “We haven’t got physical room for trials and jury members and what else to run them, otherwise we could.”

Delays mean that victims are waiting longer for justice, witness memories deteriorate with time and those acquitted may spend longer in custody on remand than necessary.

Recent trials on the Gold Coast were for incidents that occurred in 2018 and Allen & Searing Criminal Lawyers director Jodi Allen said the backlog was “getting worse”.

Ms Allen said lawyers and prosecutors were doing what they could to negotiate matters to reduce time in trials or avoid a trial completely.

Potts Lawyers director Bill Potts said law changes increasing the maximum penalties contributing to the delays, because defendants were more likely to challenge the charges.

Chief Judge Brian Devereaux SC said Southport was a busy court like Brisbane and all regional district courts.

“The Southport District Court is managing its workload adequately and there is no current concern about the volume of court matters,” he said.

Judge Devereaux said all law lists were monitored to ensure appropriate resources were deployed: “As at 28 February 2021, the criminal clearance rate was 109 per cent compared to 88.9 per cent as at 28 February 2020. The number of active pending defendants has decreased from 373 to 353 over this time period. Up to 28 February 2021, 23 jury trials have commenced, compared to 24 as at 28 February 2020.”