Back to homepage
Table of contents
Recent updates

Search for:

Challenges and issues with the role of the judicial officer

Table of Contents

Socialising and social media

Judges, cyberspace and social media Her Honour Judge J Gibson

Introduction
Defining the internet and social media
Types of social media
Social media and the judicial process
How can “open justice” accommodate social media?
Social media in the courtroom
Exceptions to the “open justice” principle
Open justice and the request for documents by journalists
Judicial reputation and social media
Impact of social media on legal research, reports and judgment writing
What changes will social media make to the law?
Conclusions

Hastening slowly: what the hare and the tortoise might teach the judiciary about social media Associate Professor J Johnston and Professor A Wallace

Introduction
Getting on board
Social media use: institutional v individual
Ethical guidelines for personal judicial use of social media
Digital media literacy
Conclusion

Speaking the right media language The Honourable Justice S Rares

Background
Part I: Apprehension of bias
Part II: Social media in the personal life of judges and tribunal members
Part III: Social media and mass media in courts and tribunals
Conclusion

Right here waiting for you: the new social media chapter in the Australian Guide to Judicial Conduct Dr Marilyn Bromberg

Introduction
The AIJA Guide
What are social media?
The existence of the social media chapter
Should judges refrain from using social media?
Should judicial officers “friend” lawyers who may come before them?
Judge’s family member’s social media use
Conclusion

Further references on socialising and social media

Relationship with legal profession, bullying and sexual harassment

Judicial bullying: the view from the bar Ms K Nomchong SC

How is bullying defined?
What is judicial bullying?
The 2018 NSW Bar Association Quality of Working Life Survey
Why does judicial bullying matter?
Not a rite of passage
Who are the victims?
The courtroom as a workplace
Addressing judicial bullying
Conclusion

Sexual harassment and the judiciary Ms K Nomchong SC

Judicial bullying Mr J Phillips SC

Further references on relationship with legal profession, bullying and sexual harassment:

Actual or apprehended bias and unconscious bias

Judicial education on “gender awareness” in Australia The Honourable Justice J Basten

Introduction
The Australian context
Identifying the issues
Diversity — the composition of courts
The importance of a gender-neutral court
Gender and decision-making
Judicial education in Australia
Conclusions

Without fear or favour, affection or ill will Kate Lumley

Defining gender equality
Closing the door on moral conservatism: government reform 1970s–1990s
The need to address gender bias in judicial education
Addressing gender bias in the Judicial Commission judicial education program
Conclusion

The intersection of the Australian law and the Islamic faith: a selection of cases Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC

Introduction
Wills and freedom of testation
Islamic family law: marriage and divorce
Islamic banking and finance
The rule of law and just outcomes
Conclusion

Does unconscious racial bias affect trial judges? Professor J Rachlinski, Professor S L Johnson, A Wistrich, and Professor C Guthrie

Implicit bias
The study design
The study results
Mitigating implicit bias in court
Conclusion
Appendix A: Materials
Appendix B: IAT procedure
Appendix C: IAT scoring

“Judge not, that ye be not judged”: judging judicial decision-making Lord Neuberger

Introduction
How judges think
Judicial cognitive bias
Apparent bias
Judges as lawmakers
Conclusion

Further references on apprehended bias and unconscious bias

Publicity and social criticism

The idea of the professional judge: the challenges of communication The Honourable Justice P Keane AC

The idea
Misconceptions
The media
What can judges do?
Individual and institutional responsibility

Community confidence in the justice system: the role of public opinion The Honourable T F Bathurst AC

Context
Is the judiciary “out of touch”?
The courts’ obligation to victims
The role of the judiciary in a democratic society
Measures to improve confidence
Conclusion

Haters gonna hate: when the public uses social media to comment critically or maliciously about judicial officers Dr M Bromberg and Mr A Ekert

Introduction
Under attack: what is at stake when a judicial officer is criticised on social media?
Moderating social media accounts: lessons learnt from business and government
Applying the lessons learnt: how should a judicial officer respond?
How best to protect judicial officers: statutory offences and judicial social media policies
Conclusion

Further references on publicity and social criticism

Stress and vicarious trauma

Australia’s first research measuring judicial stress C Schrever

Why the research was undertaken
Key findings of the first report
What the research means and doesn’t mean
In a nutshell

Judicial stress and judicial bullying The Honourable Mr M Kirby AC CMG

Judges subject to stress
The unmentionable subject
Judges occasioning stress
Responses to judicial bullying

Lifting the judicial veil — vicarious trauma, PTSD and the judiciary Mr D Heilpern

Introduction
Perspectives on trauma
Mental conditions and the judiciary
My story
Random reflections
Conclusion
Reading list

Identifying and combatting judicial stress Mr P Harvey

Background
References
Other Readings

The psychological impact of judicial work C Schrever, Associate Professor C Hulbert and Professor T Sourdin

Introduction
Methodology
The survey
Analysis
Discussion
Conclusion

A fragile bastion: UNSW judicial traumatic stress study J Hunter, R Kemp, K O’Sullivan and P Vines

Introduction
The UNSW Study
Methodology of the UNSW Study
Survey responses and findings
The three trauma incident variables summarised
Conclusions

Introducing solutions for maintaining positive psychological health: the judicial wellbeing portal E Kennedy

Further references on stress and vicarious trauma

Unrepresented, querulant and vexatious litigants

Dealing with unrepresented litigants in lengthy and complex trials Her Honour Judge Flannery SC

Introduction
Dietrich
Preliminary matters
The trial judge's role
Bench Book
Should the Crown Prosecutor give a closing address?
Summing up
Giving the accused the assistance you consider is required
Querulous litigant

Managing litigants in person The Honourable Justice E Kyrou

Non-querulant litigants in person
Querulant litigants in person without a mental illness
Mentally ill litigants in person
Inappropriate communications

The querulant litigant Dr G Lester

Understanding the vexatious litigant
Managing the persistent complainant

Responding to unreasonably persistent litigants Mr C Wheeler

Introduction
What is the experience of courts and complaint handlers?
Who complains?
Categorisation of unreasonable conduct by complainants
What are the possible causes of or motivations for such conduct?
What can be expected as a conflict escalates?
How do differing perceptions complicate problems caused by unreasonable conduct?
What are the detrimental impacts of such conduct?
What strategies are available to courts to deal with unreasonably persistent litigators?
What were the problems with the Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008?
Is there a better approach?
What options should be available for courts to manage unreasonably persistent litigants?
Conclusions

Self-represented litigants: tackling the challenge The Honourable Mr J Faulks.

Introduction
The challenge of the self-represented litigant
Tackling the challenge
Making them lawyers
Changing the system
Conclusion

Further references on unrepresented/querulant and vexatious litigants

Non-adversarial justice

Reflecting on the practice of non-adversarial justice The Honourable Mr W Martin AC QC

The traditional owners
Eleven years at the coalface
Criminal justice
Development phases
Speciality courts in WA — the rise and fall
Aboriginal courts
Family violence courts
The significance of non-adversarial justice to victims
The civil justice system
Summary and conclusion

ADR, ODR and AI-DR, or do we even need courts anymore? The Honourable T F Bathurst AC

Introduction
The broader social context
Some definitions
The influence of technology: the courts
The influence of technology: ADR
The United Kingdom reforms
The NSW Government’s consultation paper on civil justice reform
The challenges of the future
The fundamental characteristics of a court
The fundamental characteristics of ADR
Access to justice
Conclusion

Conciliation and mediation — a practical note Mr M Kimber SC

Differences between conciliation and mediation (practically speaking)
What consumers of such services like/dislike

Further references on non-adversarial justice

Therapeutic jurisprudence and the trauma-informed court

Decolonising the mind: working with transgenerational trauma and First Nations Peoples B O’Neill

Introduction
What is trans and intergenerational trauma?
How transgenerational trauma is manifested today
Strategies to heal transgenerational trauma
Case studies
Conclusion
Transgenerational trauma reimagined

Sentencing and disadvantage: the use of research to inform the court Mr N Cowdery AO QC, Professor J Hunter and Ms R McMahon

Introduction
The value of research in sentence proceedings
Receiving research in court
Matters of proof — flexibility in sentencing
When might it be desirable or obligatory for the Evidence Act to apply?
Relevance
Judicial notice — s 144 of the Evidence Act
Prosecution and defence considerations
Conclusion

The trauma-informed courtroom The Honourable Judge P Hora

Aligning what we know with what we do
SAMSHA’s six key principles of a trauma-informed approach
Vicarious trauma
Conclusion

Adopting a trauma-informed approach in the District Court of NSW His Honour Judge W Hunt

The trauma-informed approach of the Drug Court of NSW His Honour R Dive

The impact of knowledge
Engagement in treatment
Empowerment
Conclusion

The trauma-informed approach of the NSW Youth Koori Court Her Honour Magistrate Susan Duncombe

Respect for culture
Design of the court room and the court process
The role of the YKC judicial officer
Conclusion

The trauma-informed barrister Mr S McCarthy

Investment
Modify
Dress
Patience
Protect
Close

Measuring legal actor contributions in court R Waterworth

Introduction
The role of judges
Stages of interaction
Legitimacy of justice and procedural justice
Social distancing
The interaction between these and therapeutic jurisprudence
Review of the common denominators of therapy outcomes
Court participants
Types of therapy
Therapeutic alliance
How important is the therapeutic alliance?
Measuring therapeutic alliance
Implications for therapeutic jurisprudence
A behaviourally anchored description of legal actor contributions
Figure A Legal actor contributions court checklist
Conclusion

The importance of trauma-informed court practice His Honour Magistrate M King

A road less travelled: footprints from trauma His Honour Magistrate M Douglass

Further references on therapeutic jurisprudence and the trauma-informed court

Artificial intelligence

The dark side of artificial intelligence: challenges for the legal system Dr W Gravett

AI’s challenges to privacy and autonomy
The AI surveillance state
Bias and algorithmic transparency
The challenge of regulating AI
Conclusion

Technology and the law The Honourable Geoffrey Nettle AC QC

Computer says “no” Dominique Hogan-Doran SC

Automated assistance in administrative decision-making
The evolution of automated decision-making systems: Centrelink and “Robodebt”
Changing technologies in a changing world: Big Data, data matching and profiling
The need for [AI] transparency, [algorithmic] accountability and [robot] ethics
Conclusion

Tweeters, posters and grammers beware: discovery and social media evidence The Honourable T F Bathurst AC

What is social-media?
The discoverability of social media information
The destruction of social media information
Conclusion

Online justice: The way of the future? Mr R Susskind OBE FRSE

Judge v robot? Artificial intelligence and judicial decision-making Professor T Sourdin

Introduction
Three levels of technological change
The impact of online courts and online dispute resolution
The replacement of judges
An AI judge
Issues that arise with the development of an AI judge
Technology supporting judges
Conclusions

Technology and the future of the courts The Honourable Justice J Allsop AO

Introduction
Role of the courts
What the courts have achieved and could achieve
Outcomes (and associated challenges)
Conclusion

Artificial intelligence and litigation — future possibilities D Farrands KC

Introduction
Executive summary
Intelligence — the nature of work — tasks
Can artificial intelligence become human intelligence?
Where is AI already well established?
Where is AI not established/desirable?
Recent developments relating to the legal profession
AI and the work of the courts
AI in interlocutory applications
AI and tribunal work
AI and small claims
AI and private dispute resolution mechanisms
The future of virtual dispute resolution
AI and its impact on how courts are viewed by litigants and society more generally
AI and the work of law firms
AI and the work of counsel
Policy issues for the future regulation of AI
The pace of AI development
Conclusion — impact on litigation in the short to medium term

The Judicial Commission of NSW, an independent statutory corporation, is part of the judicial arm of government. It was established by the Judicial Officers Act 1986.

We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which the Commission is based, and pay respect to their Elders past and present.

Follow us

Copyright © Judicial Commission of New South Wales

Terms of use and disclaimer