Sydney District Courts ‘crisis’: 2000 criminal matters expecting a trial date due to judge shortage

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Almost 2000 criminal matters are expecting trial dates due in part to a shortage of judges following retirements and funding cuts, resulting in a “state of crisis” in the state’s justice system.

In the District Court, which handles all but the most serious crimes, there are 1928 trials pending. That figure is double the number of trials pending at the end of 2007, yet there are six fewer judges on the bench.

More than 1000 criminal trials have been registered in the first six months of this year and that figure is projected to double by the end of the law term.

The appointment of two specialist judges to hear child sexual assault cases will only go some way towards solving the backlog.

On Monday the District Court’s planning committee heard a person who has pleaded not guilty in Parramatta this week will not get a trial date until June 2016 at the earliest.

On Wednesday, Attorney-General Gabrielle​Upton announced the appointment of the two judges who will hear child sex abuse cases throughout the state.

Barristers Kate Traill and Jennie​ Girdham​ SC will be sworn in later this month and Ms Upton said this will boost the trial capacity of the District Court.

The new positions will bring the number of judges from 61 to 63, which is still down from the 67 judges on the bench at the start of 2007. On top of retirements, two judges were lost in 2013 and one in 2014 because of funding cuts.

A Law Reform Commission report tabled in June said the District Court has “major systemic issues” and is in “a state of crisis”.

“Currently, the sheer volume of trial matters that enter the District Court overwhelm the court,” the report said.

Shadow attorney-general Paul Lynch said the Baird government has failed to deal with the crisis in the District Court. He said this year’s budget proposed a 1 per cent increase in the number of cases dealt with in the next 12 months.

“Increasing delays damage the justice system. The memories of witnesses are less reliable and the standard of justice less certain. It increases anguish and apprehension for victims,” Mr Lynch said.

Ms Upton said the budget provides more money to upgrade courts across NSW, and expand the use of better technology like audio-visual conferencing.

Furthermore, a working group including Legal Aid, the DPP, the NSW Police Force and the Public Defender’s Office has been formed to help identify additional steps to address the District Court’s trial workload, she said.

In the first six months of 2015, 1003 criminal trials have been registered. At this rate the projected number for the end of the year will be 2006 trial registrations. This is higher than the previous three years.

The appointments of specialist judges are part of a number of measures announced by the Baird government before the March election to tackle child sexual assault and improve victims’ experience in court.

Others include increasing the maximum penalty for sexual assault of a child younger than 10 from 25 years’ jail to life and appointing expert “children’s champions” to support child witnesses in court.

Ms Girdham is a Crown prosecutor who has appeared in a range of cases involving children, including in convicted child killer Keli​Lane’s unsuccessful appeal against her conviction for murdering her newborn baby Tegan.

She also appeared for the Crown in opposing a court bid by the stepfather of six-year-old Kiesha​ Weippeart​ to have his manslaughter sentence reduced on the grounds he helped put her mother behind bars.

Ms Traill, from the private bar, has acted for the Crown and as a defence counsel. She prosecuted Lake Macquarie man Henry Manning, who was convicted in 2013 of multiple child sexual assault charges. She also acted for convicted killer Paul Mulvihill in his trial for the stabbing murder of his former lover Rachelle​ Yeo.

Almost one third of District Court cases (29 per cent) involve serious sexual