Chambers, Fisher & Justices of Aboriginal Court at Cherbourg v Fisher; ex parte Fisher

The Queensland Court of Appeal quashed convictions from an Aboriginal Court constituted under the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984. The Court held that a guilty plea should not have been accepted where the statement of facts disclosed no offence, and that a conviction on a not guilty plea could not stand where no sworn evidence was adduced against the accused. The Court expressly left unresolved whether a Justice of the Peace residing outside the relevant trust area was ineligible to sit on the Aboriginal Court, and whether such ineligibility would necessarily vitiate the convictions.