A sentencing judge's intemperate remarks during a contested plea hearing, including describing the accused's account as a 'fairytale' and expressing strong scepticism about the defence case, do not necessarily give rise to apprehended bias where the findings ultimately made were open on the evidence and the remarks are assessed in the context of the whole proceeding. The question remains whether the parties or the public might reasonably suspect the judge did not approach the issues with a fair and unprejudiced mind.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.
1 of the 1 citing case carries a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.