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Vic Bar rejects proposed publishing of ‘performance data’
The Victorian Bar has condemned the state opposition’s proposal to publish data about the performance and productivity of local judges and magistrates.
Emma Musgrave
If elected, the state opposition says it hopes to publish data about the sentences delivered by, and the productivity of, Victorian judges and magistrates. According to a statement from Vic Bar, the proposal will provide Victorians online access to courts “performance data”, as well as judges' and magistrates' sentences and convictions, making them comparable to other courts and states.
"The experience of Victoria’s barristers is that the overwhelming majority of judges and magistrates are very hard-working, often in difficult and stressful circumstances. While judicial officers and courts must expect public scrutiny of their work, every case they hear is unique,” Dr Collins said.
“The community expects court cases to be decided on their merits and according to law.
“Simplistic quantitative analysis of the kind proposed would not take account of qualitative measures relevant to productivity, such as the nature, complexity or duration of the cases, or the number of witnesses, parties or documents tendered in evidence. In relation to sentencing, every case is different. It is not meaningful to compare average sentences, without regard to the circumstances of individual offences and offenders."
Dr Collins added: “The Victorian justice system is already among the most open and scrutinised institutions in the country, with a range of existing mechanisms, from the ability of every person to enter a courtroom and watch justice being dispensed, to the increasing use of online streaming for decisions, to the Judicial Commission which was established to manage allegations of judicial misconduct”.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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