Bar Association Rejects Supreme Courtt Judge.

[John Wilson]

Dear Fellow Australians,   Perhaps you remember the transcript of proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court on 21 AUG 2000 when Justice David Kirby volunteered to approach the Bar Association on my behald for their pro bono assistance to draft a document?   After not hearing anything for a week and having received a letter from the Court's Principal Registrar saying "You are advised to contact the Bar Association to obtain Pro Bono representation or alternatively apply to the Court for an order under Part 66A of the Supreme Court Rules.", I phoned the judge's associate.  She was quite shocked that I had not been contacted by the Bar Association because she said she had phoned them twice on that previous Monday and said she would get back on to them immediately.   Later that day, a "Naomi" from the Supreme Court phoned me several times (as well as the Bar Association) to work out what was going on - with the final word being that the Bar Association had decided that "it was not appropriate" for a judge to do such a thing and, if I wanted to go to them, I had to file a Notice of Motion under Part 66A (cost $127).   How embarrassing for the Honourable Judge!  The general consensus of those who commented on my earlier email was that I "had received a fair deal from the judge" - but it seems that our system of justice is not about fairness and even a judge must not step out of line.   Yours sincerely,   John Wilson.