An Australian court ruled today a magistrate's expression of sympathy over the death of 15 backpackers in an Australian hostel fire was not biased and he should continue to hear a murder case stemming from the fire.
Irish student Ms Julie O’Keefe (24) of Co Wicklow was among those who died in the fire.
The Queensland state Supreme Court said magistrate Mr Michael Halliday's expression of sympathy to the families of the victims, most of them young foreign backpackers, was inappropriate but did not create a perception of bias.
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Robert Long |
Mr Halliday made his comments yesterday on the opening day of a committal hearing to determine whether itinerant fruit-picker Mr Robert Long (37) should face trial on two murder charges and one of arson stemming from the fire.
Mr Long's lawyer, Mr Craig Chowdhury, said Mr Halliday's statement showed he was not impartial and asked him to disqualify himself from the hearing.
Mr Halliday refused and Mr Chowdhury sought a ruling from the Supreme Court on whether Mr Halliday was fit to continue.
Supreme Court Justice Bob Douglas said although magistrate Halliday's comments were not appropriate they did not impinge on his ability to hear the case.
"I myself would not have conducted myself in the way the magistrate did [but] I do not think his comments impinge upon his ability to carry out his further examination of witnesses," Justice Douglas said.
"The comments by the magistrate were clearly inappropriate. It is not the role of the magistrate in that stage of the criminal process to make any type of apology at all," he said.
The committal hearing resumes tomorrow.
Reuters
