Magistrate charged of conspiracy and perverting the course of justice is struck off the roll of legal practitioners by SA Supreme Court.

Related article: https://www.indaily.com.au/news/2020/07/06/sa-magistrate-faces-court-after-icac-inquiry
Conspiracy and perverting the course of justice by a judge, magistrate and officer of the court, although very rare, does occur, and such case is a South Australian Magistrate, Bob Harrap, who was charged with two counts of deception, one count of conspiring to commit an abuse of public office and one of conspiring or attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The charges were laid on Bob Harrap after an investigation by the SA Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
Three women had also faced Adelaide Magistrates Court over related offences. Abigail Rebecca Foulkes and another woman, whose identity has been suppressed, were charged with one count of deceiving another to benefit themselves.
Lawyer, Catherine Jayne Moyse, was charged with using her position as a public officer to secure a benefit and with attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice.
ICAC Bruce Lander had alleged Bob Harrap conspired with another person to pervert the course of justice and conspired to abuse his public office in relation to a matter that was to be heard by him.
In July 2024, the Supreme Court of SA removed Robert Bruce Harrap’s name from the roll of practitioners, four years after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of deception concerning traffic infringements.
On a different case but relevant to conspiracy and perversion of the course of justice in judicial office, in 2019, Ms Odtojan reported NSW Sydney Magistrate Sharon Freund to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) alleging corrupt conduct and perverting the course of justice /administration of justice offences. The said Magistrate is alleged to have made false records in her judgment, making material statements of fact (approx. 75 times) that a credit contract existed without foundation of truth / evidence. The said Magistrate sole reliance was on barrister Mr Nicolas Ford's mere statement at the bar table (with Mr Thomas Glynn as instructing solicitor) of a contract received on 12 January 2015 where there is no evidence of any contract. Mr Ford is alleged to have defrauded his client. In February 2023, Judge Sharron Norton at NSW District court stated on court record that Mr Ford had ran a different case to his client.
Magistrate Freund is alleged to have engaged in perversion of the course of justice in her judicial position and conspired with Credit Corp, its lawyers, Piper Alderman and Nicolas Ford and Thomas Glynn. No contract was argued, produced nor reviewed (not identified, no terms etc) throughout the two-day hearing that the Magistrate presided in (as evidenced by the court transcript). Neither did Mr Ford nor Credit Corp's counsel Mr Sebastian Hartford Davis argued a credit contract nor referred/produced evidence of a credit contract. However, the Magistrate referred to a credit contract in her judgment (75 times) as a fact, but had never identified or referred to any evidence of a contract.
Magistrate Freund had falsely recorded Odtojan Bryl Lawyers as the legal representatives when her own handwriting on the court sheet for the first day of the two day hearing in July 2016, records the legal representatives as ' N.Ford and Tom Glynn'. There is also no notice of appearance filed by Odtojan Bryl Lawyers.
The NSW ICAC failed to investigate Magistrate Freund. In 2023, NSW Court of Appeal Justices Leeming and Kirk (In the case of Condon SC - Statement of claim) and Justices Basten and White ( In the cases of Ford - Statement of claim and Glynn - Statement of claim) in a limited procedural leave (permission) to appeal hearing where the parties are limited to 20 minutes to raise their appeal arguments, had impermissibly, by ambush, recorded in their respective judgments unfounded facts, representations and created evidence for the benefit of the three Defendants (the Justices omits to record that the three Defendants never attended court nor gave any evidence nor filed defences. Neither do the Justices record the law, material facts and issues raised by the Applicant in support of her case). The said Justices had also addressed one of the issues of fact (disputing existence of a contract) which can only be determined at a final hearing with all evidence and witnesses before a trial judge.
The Justices recorded that a contract was 'found' by Magistrate Freund when there are no such records in the Magistrate's judgment, and no such evidence was given by any of the three defendants, Mr Ford, Mr Glynn and Mr Condon SC.
The said Justices are aware that there are no such records in the Magistrate's Judgment and no contract was before them to record a contract exists. Reliance on a judgment or opinion of another judge to prove a fact in issue is also impermissible under s 91 of the Evidence Act.
The said Justices is alleged to have engaged in administration of justice offences and have referred innocent persons, a victim and two witnesses (who yet to give evidence at final hearing), and who are now both victims of the said Justices false recordings in their respective judgments and their referral under false premises of no basis/evidence of the claim to be subject to investigation by Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC). The Justices are aware of the documents/evidence put before them including side-by-side evidence of tampered court documents. The Justices have disregarded such documents/evidence and applicable credit laws and Evidence Act, particularly s 91 . Such conduct of referring innocent persons to be subject to investigation and making false records in legal instruments (judgments) and abusing judicial positions to commit such acts, are offences under the Crimes Act.
For more information see OBL Public Notice.
Disclaimer: Information only. Not legal advice. The information is subject to change where any corrections, amendments or additional information may be required. Contact: oblawyers.media@gmail.com
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