Mr Ward’s death in a prison van has spurred a review of the Justice of the Peace system in Western Australia. But proposed reforms do not go far enough: the entire system needs overhauling, says Rex Widerstrom as he calls for more submissions to the official review, closing 10 Dec 2010.
JP reforms need to go further
By Rex Widerstrom, CLA Convenor in WA
The WA Government is considering reforms to the state’s Justice of the Peace (JP) system, arising out of the death of Mr Ward, an Aboriginal elder who was denied bail by a JP after being arrested for allegedly drink-driving.
Mr Ward was a well-known and respected local resident. In 2008 he was arrested for a traffic offence – hardly making him a high security risk. But the local JP denied him bail, so he was sent by private contractor, Global Solutions Limited (GSL),from Laverton to Kalgoorlie, to be held in custody.
The air conditioning in the back of the van was not working and Mr Ward collapsed on the 380km trip after four hours when outside temperatures reached into the 40s. He subsequently died. A chemist who assisted in a re-enactment of the incident in similar conditions told the Coronial Court that the air temperature in the back of the van reached 50.4C. He also told the court the surface temperature of the metal floor in the back peaked at 56.6C during the re-enactment.
A coronial inquest found the Department of Corrective Services, the two prison van drivers and their employer G4S were all partly responsible for the death.
However there can be no doubt that Mr Ward would be alive today if he had not been found ineligible for bail by the JP, despite facing only very minor charges.
Civil Liberties Australia in WA has also received complaints concerning Visiting Justices who attend prisons and hear internal charges against prisoners. Because WA’s Prisons Act specifically denies prisoners in that situation the right to natural justice or to independent representation, it’s vitally important that a JP in this role be trained and competent. Yet in one case, the JP allegedly made inappropriate, suggestive and insulting remarks to a female prisoner and raised his voice to prison staff. To its credit, the WA Department of Corrections conceded that that particular JP was unsuitable. The Attorney General refuses to confirm whether the man still hold appointment as a Justice, and may therefore come into contact with other vulnerable people and may in fact be presiding in courts.
However, the Department of the Attorney General has issued a discussion paper on JPs and is calling for submissions. Proposals centre around a “two tier” system, as practiced in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand, with only an “upper tier” of JPs handling judicial functions.
CLA supports a two tier system but feels that the reform measure suggested by the DoTAG does not go far enough. The review offers a significant opportunity to consider the selection, training, monitoring and supervision of JPs and that a better system should be implemented in any new legislation.
The Department’s discussion paper rightly makes the point that JPs exercising a judicial function are part of the judiciary and therefore independent of the executive arm of government. However there are already models in which lay decision-makers are overseen and guided by judges and/or magistrates, such as in the State Administrative Tribunal. It also seems incongruous that many decisions by JPs cannot be appealed when those by higher judicial officers can be, thus making JPs a “law unto themselves”.
CLA will be making a submission to the review and encourages others to do so too. The closing date for submissions is 5pm Friday 10 December 2010.
More details including the discussion paper – click here »
For more information on CLA’s position: contact Rex Widerstrom, WA Convenor »