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‘Justice delayed is justice denied’: WA Law Society responds to reports of crisis meeting into courtroom shortages
The Western Australian Law Society has responded to media coverage into the state of the legal profession and confirmed that the Attorney-General has called for a crisis meeting to discuss the shortage of courtrooms and the increased case delays.
Naomi Neilson
In a recent editorial, The Western Australian reported that the state government has struggled so far to find at least four more courtrooms to house a backlog of criminal trials despite a $280 million justice centre “in the heart of the city”. It also reported the Attorney-General had called for a crisis meeting with judges and public servants.
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In response, the Western Australian Law Society responded that the trial delays – which were 60 per cent over target late last year – have left victims and accused waiting an average of a year for cases to go before a jury. This, they said, was due to the cancellation of jury trials during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The society added that the nature of the trials had also changed over time in that “trials are more complex and lengthier and require more sitting days, and so each court is occupied for a long period of time” before it can be switched to another case.
As for the David Malcolm Justice Centre, the society said it could only be used for civil matters as stipulated by a clause in the lease agreement signed by the state government. The renegotiation of the lease is in all likelihood “unrealistic”, and an appropriate long-term solution should be costed while short-terms are implemented.
Law Society president Jocelyne Boujos said: “There is a legal maxim that says, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. This means cases should be heard without unnecessary delay, as to do otherwise leads to injustices for the accused person.
“Prolonged delays in hearing criminal matters have a severe impact on victims of crime and their families, financially and mentally. The community will not be able to trust our justice system when it is broken and in crisis.”
Ms Boujos said the Law Society appreciates that Attorney-General John Quigley recently called for a crisis meeting, “but reinforces its call on the McGowan government to resolve this issue swiftly, to ensure that the community is delivered a fair and just system” that is not consistently hampered with delays.
In a statement released in April, the Law Society called on the government to urgently provide more courtrooms across the state to relieve the “great strain”. While it asked for four, the society said an additional seven would assist the state.
“Essentially, the system is overloaded and under great strain due to the limited infrastructure available at present and needs a rapid and significant investment by the McGowan government,” Ms Boujos said at the time.
