Prothonotary v Wilson [1999] NSWSC 1114

New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : Prothonotary v Wilson [1999] NSWSC 1114 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Civil FILE NUMBER(S) : 12914 of 1997 HEARING DATE(S) : 9 November 1999 JUDGMENT DATE : 9 November 1999

PARTIES : Prothonotary John Wilson JUDGMENT OF : Wood CJatCL

COUNSEL : T. Budden SC for Plaintiff Defendant in person SOLICITORS : Crown Solicitors CATCHWORDS : Contempt of Court DECISION : Sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of 2 years from today 9/11/99

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION No. 12914 of 1997 WOOD CJ at CL TUESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 1999

THE PROTHONOTARY v WILSON

SENTENCE 1 HIS HONOUR: Some material has been placed before me on behalf of the defendant concerning his prior character; for example, it has been shown that he has no prior convictions of any kind, he has been a practising dentist and a friend of his, Ray Lovett, says that he regards him as a truthful man who does help people in the community, and who has a genuine belief in the injustices of the legal system. Beyond that, no material has been placed before me as to the general character of the defendant or concerning his mental state. 2 It may be accepted that it is of the nature of matters that come before the courts in this State that often strong passions will be raised and that, in some litigants, feelings of injustice will be engendered. In some situations those feelings may be genuine, in others, although strongly held those beliefs will be baseless. 3 In dealing with the matter of contempt the court is not concerned with the rightness or wrongness of the complaints which the defendant has in relation to the justice system, save to accept, as I do, that such beliefs as he expresses are firmly held by him. 4 The relevant approach was identified by Kirby ACJ in Cook & Ors v. Phillips, Court of Appeal, 29 September 1995, unreported, when his Honour said: "Unless this Court by its orders in cases such as this controls such passions in the environment of the court room and the precincts of the court, the achievement of peaceful curial resolution of disputes will be frustrated and may, in a particular case, be prevented. This civilised feature of our society could then give way to verbal abuse, physical assault and even worse."