It’s been reported District Court Judge Peter Whitford expressed concerns about sexual assault cases after hearing a costs order on February 27. He criticised the prosecution for pursuing cases without considering the likelihood of securing a conviction. He mentioned a dismissed case that he believed was even weaker than another case that led another judge to criticise the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for taking a careless and possibly politically motivated approach to rape cases. Judge Whitford indicated that the DPP’s office frequently disregarded its own guidelines for assessing the merits of a case before deciding to prosecute.

Judge Robert Newlinds SC also acquitted a man of a rape charge. He informed the court that there seemed to be an unofficial expectation in Ms. Dowling’s office to prosecute cases without carefully examining the evidence.

In both these cases, the men involved were awarded court costs. Ms. Dowling has since asked for an audit on cases that have been committed to trial. She told a government meeting in New South Wales that it was ridiculous for judges to say that the DPP was bringing weak sexual assault cases to court, but who else would be in a better position than a judge, to see what’s going on? Other judges in other states have raised similar concerns in regards to the performance of the Department of Public Prosecutions and its starting to get heated.

The Brittany Higgins and the Bruce Lehrmann case really put the spotlight on Shane Drumgold, chief prosecutor of ACT DPP, and his handling of the case, so we can’t ignore what our judges are saying. Is there a trend happening post #MeToo to prosecute men, then we need to know about it. After all, it’s our money, the taxpayer, who is forking out the funds to cover wages and court costs, so we need to keep them accountable. As for the men going through the anguish of allegations made against them and are innocent, let’s just show some compassion. You never know when it might be someone you know in this position.