ACT Supreme Court 2020 Annual Review

Chief Justice Murrell’s Introduction From July 2019 to June 2020 The year 2019–2020 was difficult for the Court as an institution, and was difficult for our judges, Court staff and Court users.

A series of disasters—widespread bushfires, a colossal hailstorm and then a pandemic—challenged our flexibility, resilience, and capacity to innovate. I think that we rose to the occasion.

The year commenced on a positive note with the birth of Associate Justice McWilliam’s baby on 8 July 2019 and the appointment of Acting Justice “Bobby” Crowe to preside over the Associate Judge’s list during her absence on maternity leave.

On 1 August 2019, Acting Justice Walker was appointed to oversee the new Drug and Alcohol Sentencing List (DASL). Her Honour’s hard work brought the DASL to fruition. The DASL relies on an interdisciplinary team comprising representatives from ACT Health, Corrective Services, the Director of Public Prosecutions, ACT Policing, Legal Aid ACT, and Child and Youth Protection Services. Unfortunately, in 2020, the pandemic temporarily halted an expansion of the DASL. When the pandemic struck and Acting Justice Walker returned to lead the Magistrates Court, Justice Loukas-Karlsson kindly took charge of the list.

In late 2019, we were saddened by the departure of Registrar Annie Glover, who retired after 13 years as our registrar.

During my time as Chief Justice, Annie worked indefatigably to